


Wandering Through Mirrors

by andiemaru



Category: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-14
Updated: 2015-01-14
Packaged: 2018-03-07 14:35:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: AU - Warning
Chapters: 1
Words: 29,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3176182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andiemaru/pseuds/andiemaru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A dangerous and well-kept secret of the Jedi Order is revealed. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon must act quickly before the repercussions destroy a world unaware of the force. (a.k.a. What if Jedis Roamed the Earth?)</p><p>Disclaimer: All previously used characters from the Star Wars Universe belong to George Lucas. Anyone else is mine. I'm not making any money off of this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wandering Through Mirrors

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 2000.

|  [Master Apprentice](http://www.masterapprentice.org/html/index.html) [Archive](http://www.masterapprentice.org/html/archive.html) Wandering Through Mirrors  |  Quick search:   
---|---  
  
##  Wandering Through Mirrors 

###  by Andie maru 

Rating: G

Archive: m_a

Classification: Action-Adventure, Series

Series: Wandering Through Mirrors

Spoilers: Jedi Apprentice Series

Warnings: AU

Summary: A dangerous and well-kept secret of the Jedi Order is  
revealed. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon must act quickly before the  
repercussions destroy a world unaware of the force. (a.k.a.  
What if Jedis Roamed the Earth?)

 

 

Disclaimer: All previously used characters from the Star Wars  
Universe belong to George Lucas. Anyone else is mine. I'm not  
making any money off of this.

  


Part 1

Obi-Wan tripped as he hurried down the darkened corridor. He  
was trying to keep up with his Master and several other Jedis.  
As he tripped he muttered a silent oath. He thought no one  
noticed but the look on his master's face told him his master  
knew of his anger and was not pleased. That frustrated Obi-Wan  
even more. His clumsy footing was the latest in a long series  
of mistakes and fumbles.

He had only been an apprentice for four months when his Master,  
Qui-Gon Jinn, had been summoned back to Coruscant. Although he  
had enjoyed their adventures together it was nice to be back on  
familiar territory. Obi-Wan couldn't wait too tell his friends  
Brant, Garen Muln, and Reeft, the story of how he had become  
Qui-Gon's apprentice.

Unfortunately this expectation had set Obi-Wan up for the first  
disappointment of his visit. All three of his friends were on a  
field trip to Terrace Spree, a training center on the opposite  
side of Coruscant, and could not be contacted for several days.  
Qui-Gon had left Obi-Wan on his own that morning. Without  
anyone else to talk to Obi-Wan had decided to practice the use  
of his lightsaber.

Normally he felt comfortable when practicing in the temple.  
This day, however, he had felt an unexplained tension that  
permeated through out the temple walls. On top of this he felt  
very little sense of his master. He and Qui-Gon had only the  
beginnings of a Master-Padawan link. Obi-Wan could not feel its  
presence, a presence he had grown to rely on for reassurance.  
It's unexplained absence had created the distraction of doubt  
in Obi-Wan's mind. As he practice with a training droid he  
managed to split the shoulder seam of his tunic. That  
completely broke his concentration and caused him to take a  
nasty laser hit on the cheek.

He was even more frustrated with himself when he left the  
training area and managed to run into Master Krill. Obi-Wan  
received a strong tongue lashing from the Master Krill about  
paying attention to where he was going. While he was being  
berated Obi-Wan could sense the tension in the Jedi before him.  
Through the force it felt as though every advanced Jedi Master,  
Knight, and Padawan was upset and were trying not to show it.  
Obi-Wan decided he must talk with Qui-Gon right away. Searching  
him out with the force had been useless while their link was  
closed. Obi-Wan acted on a hunch and had headed to the Jedi  
Council chambers.

Obi-Wan believed his day couldn't get much worse when he ran in  
to Bruck Chun and Aalto in the temple halls.

"Well if it isn't old Oafy Wan." Bruck enjoyed using the  
nickname Obi-Wan hated the most. "So tell me, how does your  
garden grow Oafy? Or have the Agri- Crops kicked you out  
already?"

"I'm not in the Agri-Crops, Bruck." Obi-Wan spoke with his head  
held high. "I have been accepted as a Padawan,' he paused for  
effect, "to Master Qui-Gon Jinn."

To Obi-Wan the silence that followed was the sweetest noise he  
had ever heard. Although a Jedi should not be vindictive, he  
knew how badly Bruck had always wanted him to fail. He also  
knew Bruck had hopes of becoming Qui-Gon's Padawan as well. The  
knowledge that he had bested Bruck in this made him very happy  
in a spiteful way.

The next sound Obi-Wan heard was laughter from Bruck and Aalto.

"Oh Oafy," Bruck said as he doubled over with laughter. "The  
air on Bandomere must be thin. You haven't gotten enough oxygen  
and now you're hallucinating."

"It's true," was all Obi-Wan could say.

Bruck was now laughing so hard that tears were forming in his  
eyes.

"No it's not," he said. "All Padawan claims must be made  
official by being entered in the Jedi Council's records. No one  
has made such a claim for you, Oafy."

Obi-Wan could feel himself shrinking inside his clothes.

"Qui-Gon will enter me now."

"Why do you think we're laughing?" It was Aalto's turn to  
speak. "All entries must be made before the Padawan turns  
thirteen. If it isn't made official before that time the Jedi  
Council will not accept the claim. Your thirteenth birthday was  
several weeks ago."

Obi-Wan had nothing left to say. He only knew he wanted to  
speak with Qui-Gon right away and started for the Council's  
chambers once again.

"Looks like you are out of luck again, Oafy." Bruck called  
after him. "But please, give Master Jinn my regards. He's  
obviously still looking for a worthy apprentice."

Obi-Wan waited outside the Council Chambers until Qui-Gon  
emerged. When He did, the Master Jedi was in a heated debate  
with Master Mace Windu.

"The Council is setting themselves up Mace," Qui-Gon insisted.  
"Surely you see this."

"The Council is firm in their decision," the dark skinned Jedi  
replied. His tone was as agitated as Qui-Gon's. "To shut it  
down goes against Jedi law."

"A law that was created years ago," Qui-Gon countered. "Even  
the Tarakians stop following laws when they become obsolete.  
And they live to create and follow laws. Besides, if what I  
have been told around the temple is true..."

"Believe in rumors, the danger is great." Obi-Wan watched as  
Master Yoda followed the other Jedis from the Chamber. Several  
other Council Members left the chamber and looked nervously at  
Qui-Gon and Mace Windu. They hurriedly stepped around the two  
Jedi and left the area.

"Normally I would agree with you Master," Qui-Gon continued.  
"But the Portal complicates things. It should never have been  
left as a temptation to the students."

"No one expected it to be found," Mace Windu countered.

"If a Jedi is tempted by the dark side and knows of the  
portal..." Obi-Wan could sense the normally checked emotions  
radiating out from his master's body.

"Power they may seek," Yoda finished for Qui-Gon. "To find  
power through the Portal, easy it shall not be. We must remain  
calm Padawan."

Mace Windu agreed. "It would be foolish for someone to follow  
the path of Padawan Gregor."

"But not unthinkable, especially to an immature student."  
Qui-Gon said. "It was foolish to keep the location of the  
portal so poorly hidden. I'm surprised it took so long for a  
curious youngster to find it."

"Guarded it shall be." Yoda said. "Destroy it we shall not." He  
closed his heavy lidded eyes and spoke again quietly. "A  
purpose I foresee."

Qui-Gon sighed. Obi-Wan suddenly felt overwhelmed by  
frustration and was unsure if it was his or his Master's that  
he felt more. He was slightly relieved to feel Qui-Gon restore  
their bond in an effort to find him. Apparently Qui-Gon had  
been so immersed in the conversation that he had not noticed  
his Padawan standing nearby. Qui-Gon turned to look at Obi-Wan.

"Your tunic is ripped," was all he said. It was not the  
greeting Obi-Wan had expected.

"It happened during lightsaber practice," Obi-Wan replied.

"From the look of that burn I'd say he could use the practice,"  
Mace Windu made a reference to Obi-Wan's cheek.

Obi-Wan had wanted to speak to Qui-Gon about being his Padawan  
but he suddenly felt nervous in front of the Council Members.  
Although he knew several healing techniques, Obi-Wan could not  
yet control the force properly to heal his burn quickly. It now  
seemed to sting more as it was noticed by the other Jedis.

"You should be more considerate of your appearance when  
addressing members of the Jedi Council," Mace Windu added.

Before Obi-Wan could respond a large blast was heard. The force  
of the explosion knocked Obi-Wan to the ground. It had come  
from somewhere deep inside the Temple. Qui-Gon's anger was  
growing again. Obi-Wan felt it as Qui-Gon helped him to his  
feet in a very rough manner.

"It will be guarded?" Qui-Gon asked Yoda and Mace.

It was soon after that when Obi-Wan found himself tripping  
behind his Master and the other Jedi as they made their way to  
the lower levels of the temple. He didn't understand what had  
happened. What could have caused Qui- Gon, the perfect example  
of one who has mastered the art of being calm, to become so  
emotional. Or was this just a side of his master that he had  
never seen before?

Obi-Wan finally caught up with the Master Jedis in a part of  
the temple that was off limits to students and Padawans. They  
were standing outside the remains of a solid metal door that  
had been blown out with some type of explosive. The blast had  
injured two Jedi Knights who apparently had been standing  
outside the door when it blew. Obi-Wan was confused at how  
someone had gotten past two Jedi Knights to cause the  
explosion.

A crowd of Jedi Masters, Padawans, and students started  
gathering at the door. After someone arrived to care for the  
injured, Obi-Wan watched as Qui-Gon stepped through the  
remainder of the door and disappeared into the smoke of the  
room beyond. He was quickly followed by Mace Windu, Yoda, and  
the rest of the crowd.

As Obi-Wan waited for his turn to enter the room he took a  
moment to try and calm himself. He closed his eyes and took a  
deep cleansing breath just as Qui-Gon had taught him. A  
disturbance in the force slam against him, nearly knocking him  
off his feet. The disturbance was not necessarily positive or  
negative. It was obvious to Obi-Wan, however, that the force  
was being manipulated in a way that he had never felt before.  
If anyone else had sensed the same disturbance they did not  
respond to it openly. The source of it appeared to be coming  
from the other side of the blown out door. When he finally got  
the chance to enter the room he felt the disturbance even  
stronger.

It was difficult to not stare in awe at the room he had just  
entered. It was large with an arched ceiling towering overhead.  
The wooden paneled walls were covered with ornate carvings; a  
tribute to a Jedi tradition that had fallen out of favor many  
years ago.

Obi-Wan noticed his Master and the Council members standing  
near the center of the room. They stood looking at a metal  
plate lying flat in the center of the floor. A colorful tile  
pattern surrounded the plate and the Jedi Masters stayed back  
from the area. Qui-Gon moved around the opposite side of the  
plate. As he did Obi-Wan notice his image blur ever so slightly  
when the plate was directly between his master and himself.  
Obi-Wan sensed that the plate was the cause of the disturbance  
he felt in the Force. He closed his eyes and concentrated on  
the plate. A slight feeling of nausea crept over him. It was as  
if the Force was creating a vortex around the plate on the  
floor.

Obi-Wan could not quite grasp the force well enough to focus  
clearly on the vortex. As he tried he could only feel the  
constant spinning of the vortex and he began to feel dizzy. He  
opened his eyes and turned his attention away from the now  
invisible vortex to try and calm his stomach. As he did he  
noticed his master staring at him in a peculiar way.

* * *

Qui-Gon's day had started out poorly and proceeded to grow  
steadily worse. He had been called back to Coruscant by the  
Jedi Council. Qui-Gon had not been to Coruscant since he had  
accepted Obi-Wan as his Padawan, and had hoped they would not  
have to return for some time. He wanted time alone with his new  
apprentice so they could established a strong Master-Padawan  
link. He also wanted Obi-Wan to realize how important it is to  
control the force through the practical experience of missions.  
It would give the boy incentive when sheltered in the Jedi  
Temple.

They had gotten to Coruscant late the night before. Try as he  
might, Qui- Gon had not gotten a good night's sleep. He felt as  
though he was catching a cold. Attempts to heal himself were  
only able to reduce the illness down to a sinus headache and a  
slightly runny nose.

He felt the tension in the Temple the next morning while  
sitting down for breakfast and a much needed cup of tea. There  
he was told the Portal of Rasme had been discovered by a couple  
of young students playing in an off-limits section of the  
temple. Qui-Gon was also told that the Council was already in  
session to discuss how to handle the situation.

Immediately Qui-Gon had snapped his shields in place without  
consideration for Obi-Wan's reaction. The Portal of Rasme  
always triggered his anger. It was dangerous and Qui-Gon felt  
sure it would only bring trouble to the Jedi Order. Worse yet,  
in the wrong hands it could be used to introduce new worlds to  
the Force. Many races were unprepared for such an encounter.  
The lessons of the past taught that such encounters could  
easily lead to exploitation, fighting, and destruction. Qui-Gon  
left his breakfast to address the Council.

Walking in unannounced to a Council session was not a smart  
thing to do. Walking into an already heated Council debate was  
far worse. Qui-Gon did both.

"This is no business of yours, Master Jinn." Mace Windu  
responded to the intrusion first. "I suggest you follow the  
correct protocol next time you seek an audience with the  
Council."

"The Portal of Rasme is the business of every Jedi," Qui-Gon  
reported coolly. "Its discovery has placed it in high priority  
at breakfast table conversations this morning. While you are  
here debating how to handle it young students are becoming  
curious over what everyone is talking about."

"Are you suggesting that curiosity is a bad thing, Master  
Jinn?" Master Ki-Al-Mundi asked.

"With all due respect," Qui-Gon replied, his shoulders taut.  
"This is not the time for an intelligent debate over the  
curiosity of children. The portal must be destroyed."

"How can you so eagerly want destroy such a specific  
manifestation of the Force?" Windu asked. His anger at Qui-Gon  
was obvious. "The Portal was Master Rasme's gift to the Jedi.  
It should be treated with our respect."

"Yes it should. But that is not possible." Qui-Gon's  
intimidating gaze traveled to all the council members. "I  
believe this council refuses to destroy the Portal out of fear.  
You are all intimidated by what you don't understand. You are  
not leaving the portal alone out of respect."

Many of the Council members looked at each other.

"So you've come here to make accusations about the Council's  
motives?" Mace Windu stood to address Qui-Gon with his full  
height. "Are you sure it's not your own paranoia about the  
portal that upsets you so much? Maybe it is you who doesn't  
understand."

Qui-Gon sensed the discomfort of the Council members. Although  
he and Mace were old friends, they had been known to come to  
blows in the past.

"I understand that the portal is something which can easily be  
misused. What of those who seek the darkside?" Qui-Gon threw  
back. "I was called back to Coruscant because of this."

"Possibility it is," Master Yaddle spoke up. "Certainty it is  
not. Investigated it must be."

"This is why you were called back to Coruscant, Master Jinn."  
Ki-Adi- Mundi added. "The Council has reason to believe the  
darkside has planted a seed here in the Temple. We want you to  
investigate the possibility."

"Who?"

"If you had waited to be called before the Council, we might  
have had that information for you." Windu appeared to toss away  
long years of friendship with his tone. "We would have been  
able to discuss the situation in a more constructive manner.  
Now your presence before the Council will no doubt add to the  
tension already felt here."

The debate had continued in the same manner for quite some  
time. If Master Jinn had not been so engulfed in his emotions  
he might have noticed the unusual absence of on important  
council member's voice. It was not until Master Yoda called for  
a recess that Qui-Gon realized Yoda had been  
uncharacteristically silent through out the debate.

"Enough," the diminutive Jedi said. "Step away, we must.  
Guarded the portal will be."

Many of the council seemed relieved when the recess was called.  
Qui-Gon used the opportunity to try and reason with Master  
Windu as they left the council chambers. In the midst of his  
frustration he had all but forgotten Obi- Wan. He had trusted  
his Padawan to stay out of trouble on Coruscant so he reasoned  
that he could pay less attention to his Padawan's needs.  
Qui-Gon hadn't meant to shut himself from their newly forming  
bond either. The Portal of Rasme was on of the few things that  
touched a deep emotional spark in Qui-Gon and the seriousness  
of it being used scared Qui-Gon deeply. Obi-Wan did not need to  
be affected by his master's fears. Or so Qui-Gon justified to  
himself.

He sensed the error of his reasoning when he saw the burn on  
Obi-Wan's cheek. Qui-Gon should have used the opportunity to  
teach Obi-Wan more about healing techniques. He should have  
been there when he had gotten the burn in the first place. He  
should have known what had happened so he could counsel Obi-Wan  
on how to prevent the same thing from happening again.

Qui-Gon knew a good master is mindful of his apprentice.  
Instead he had been ignoring Obi-Wan, caught up in a crisis  
that should never have been allowed to happen. It was too early  
in their relationship to force such a separation. Qui-Gon could  
not let his emotions come between he and Obi-Wan, like they had  
with Xantos. Today, Qui-Gon realized, he had allowed that to  
happen, even as he saw his apprentice trip and become angry in  
a way Qui-Gon didn't understand.

Then he was standing before the Portal of Rasme, looking into  
one of the strongest manifestations of the force. A force so  
refined, so specialized, that only an advanced Jedi could fully  
recognize it.

Obi-Wan could see the portal. Qui-Gon realized Obi-Wan's  
awareness and couldn't help looking at him in amazement. In the  
few months they had been together his new Padawan had continued  
to surprise Qui-Gon. Now was no exception, but unfortunately  
not the time for Qui-Gon to act on it.

Mace Windu stood just at the edge of the plate on the floor and  
pressed the palms of his hands to the edge of the unseen  
vortex. Master Yoda looked at the floor on which he was drawing  
imaginary lines with his stick.

"There were two who entered," Mace finally said.

"Can you determine who they were?" Qui-Gon asked.

After a few moments of concentration Master Windu stepped back  
from the portal.

"The Force in the Portal is so strong it has overwhelmed the  
Force signatures of the two." Master Windu spoke again. "I  
cannot determine who they are or where they went."

"Go after them, someone must," Master Yoda spoke without  
looking up.

Qui-Gon took a deep breath and felt the ease of resignation  
pass through him. His fears, now realized, were no longer a  
concern. Now he knew what must be done.

"I'll do it."

Mace Windu looked at his old friend steadily.

"Qui-Gon, I'll admit you were right all along. But are you sure  
you know what you're saying?" He asked. "We won't be able to  
help you through the Portal."

"That's exactly why I must go. I am the only one who has  
prepared for this possibility." Qui-Gon sighed as he spoke. "I  
guess my paranoia wasn't so bad after all."

Mace Windu stared at him with a sad smile and then watched as  
Qui-Gon look to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan instinctively moved to  
Qui-Gon's side.

"Are you sure about taking Obi-Wan?" Mace Windu asked.

Instead of responding Qui-Gon spoke quietly to his Padawan.

"Obi-Wan, I'm about to ask you to do something I do not have  
time to prepare you for. You sense the Portal?"

Obi-Wan nodded in reply.

"The Portal of Rasme is a way of transporting to another place.  
Unfortunately it cannot be controlled. If we travel through the  
Portal there is a good chance that we may never be able to  
return to Coruscant, or anywhere near here, ever again. You  
don't have to come with me. If you don't I will completely  
understand and your training will be continued with another  
Master."

Obi-Wan could see the seriousness of the situation reflected in  
his Master's eyes. He matched that seriousness in his reply.

"I understand Master, and I want to go with you."

"Thank you Padawan." Qui-Gon smiled with his words and Obi-Wan  
sensed relief in his Master.

Qui-Gon turned back to Mace Windu, placed his hand on Obi-Wan's  
shoulder, and spoke. "My Padawan and I will help each other."

There was a rustling noise next to Qui-Gon. He noticed two boys  
looking at him angrily. Before he could explore this Mace was  
speaking again.

"He's very young Qui-Gon," Mace Windu cautioned. "Too many  
mistakes have already been made today."

"Proceed together they shall." Master Yoda finally looked up  
from the floor. "As with Master and Padawan it always should  
be. Be mindful of the Force. Where you need to be, it shall  
take you. Trust in the Force. Trust in each other."

Master Yoda turned his attention back to the floor. Qui-Gon  
noticed a slight droop in his former Master's shoulders. His  
Master's eyes were wide; too unfocused to really be looking at  
anything.

Qui-Gon turned back to his Padawan.

"Obi-Wan, we're going to step into the Portal. It should allow  
us to follow the path taken by the two Jedis who entered it  
earlier."

Qui-Gon looked at Mace Windu who nodded solemnly in reply.  
Turning his apprentice towards the plate on the floor, Qui-Gon  
took a deep breath. He was ready to move onto the plate when he  
sensed a quiet plea from his former Master. It whispered along  
their former Master-Padawan link so softly that Qui-Gon almost  
missed it.

/Come back Padawan./

He took one last look at his former Master and stepped onto the  
plate, Obi-Wan standing in front of him.

Qui-Gon put his hands on Obi-Wan's shoulders. He immediately  
felt the Force swirling around them. He closed his eyes and  
tried to center himself on his own living Force. A wind seemed  
to blow against him form every angle and he tightened his grip  
on his Padawan. A loud ringing penetrated his hears and he felt  
as though he was falling. His heart beat at an accelerated pace  
as if in competition with the ringing in his ears. He called on  
the Force out of reflex in an attempt to center himself.

That was a mistake. The force soared around him so ferociously  
that he could no longer protect against it. He felt he was  
being ripped apart and then he felt the material of Obi-Wan's  
cloak slipping beneath his fingers. He opened his eyes and  
grasp at the material only to feel his Padawan being torn away  
from him. Nearly blind Qui-Gon reached out in front of himself  
with a yell for Obi- Wan.

* * *

* * *

Part 2

The swirling stopped abruptly as Qui-Gon's hands landed against  
something solid. The force of the impact was felt through out  
his body as it sank in the same direction as his hands,  
realigning itself to a newfound gravitational Force. As his  
vision cleared, Qui-Gon realized he was pushing himself off  
black pavement with shaky limbs. He pushed himself to his knees  
and nearly collapsed against a wall to his side. His chest hurt  
with every breath he took. He tried to relax and sat back  
against the wall. Slowly he became aware of his surroundings.

He was apparently in an alley. The inhabitants of this world  
obviously didn't believe in recycling, as there were several  
bags of what smelled like refuse in large metal containers  
around him.

Soon Qui-Gon began to sense the living force around him. It was  
strong and also fast paced. The rhythm of it reminded Qui-Gon  
of Coruscant but the air was far more polluted with the  
remnants of fossil fuels. He heard voices and footsteps and  
other noises he couldn't identify. Looking around one metal  
refuse container he say people walking past the opening of the  
alley. A couple of teenaged boys walked past and Qui-Gon  
immediately thought of his Padawan.

His head still reeled but he concentrated on the Force, calling  
on it to search for Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon dismissed the thought that  
Obi-Wan had not come through the Portal and landed in the same  
place. "Take you where to need to be, the Force will," Master  
Yoda had said. Surely Obi-Wan had he were needed together.

To his relief, Qui-Gon could sense Obi-Wan's life Force nearby.  
Qui-Gon could also sense that Obi-Wan was just as disoriented  
as Qui-Gon felt. Contacting him through their link proved  
futile. Qui-Gon would have to find Obi-Wan first. He leaned  
against the building to steady himself as he pulled himself to  
his feet.

A wave of nausea threatened to overcome the Jedi Master but he  
called on the Force to control it. It was all he could do to  
use the Force to locate Obi- Wan and calm his body. He moved  
slowly to the street at the end of the alley. Across the street  
he saw a park and above the trees, not too far away, stood a  
large white obelisk. People were looking at it as they walked  
by.

Sensing that Obi-Wan was farther away at the opposite end of  
the park, Qui-Gon made his way out of the alley and followed  
the flow of pedestrians in front of him. Because of the current  
strain on his system he felt no warning when a vehicle on the  
opposite side of the street burst into flames. A vehicle that  
was directly between the burning one and Qui-Gon, swerved  
suddenly in reaction to the flames. The last thing Qui-Gon  
heard were screams as he felt himself being struck by the  
vehicle, thrown into the air, and colliding with a brick wall.

* * *

Obi-Wan found himself on his hands and knees. He looked around  
and appeared to be between a small wooden booth and a large  
vehicle, capable of carrying several people. Obi-Wan was  
shaking but he managed to pull himself to his feet. Using the  
booth as a support he walked to where he could look around the  
vehicle. There was a large staircase leading up to a white  
building on the other side of the vehicle. Inside the building  
Obi-Wan could make out the statue of a large sitting figure.  
Several people were walking up and down the stair and admiring  
the statue. Another vehicle pulled up and several people  
started to get off of it. Obi-Wan decided to move to a less  
crowded area.

He took several deep breaths to try and calm his stomach.  
Obi-Wan looked around for Qui-Gon but saw no sign of him. Using  
the force he could sense his Master was nearby. Following the  
direction of the Force Obi-Wan walked into a large park. At the  
far end he could see a large white Obelisk rising above the  
tree and reflected in a long narrow pond in the center of the  
park.

People walked around the park and took no notice of Obi-Wan.  
They appeared to be too busy taking in the statues around them.  
Obi-Wan came upon a group of statues surrounded but a shiney  
black wall. Thirteen life-sized statues, men in uniform and  
with some sort of blasters, appeared to walk without motion on  
a bed of green ground cover. In the wall around them were  
carved the faces of several others that watched the stationary  
men. None of the living people who walked among the statues  
spoke very loud. Obi-Wan noticed an older man lean down and  
talk to a small child and he pointed to one of the statues. The  
solemn nature of the surroundings was not lost on Obi-Wan.

Unfortunately, the peace was quickly broken when he heard a  
squealing noise and some screaming coming from the opposite end  
of the park. A large cloud of black smoke rose up from the  
trees. Obi-Wan centered himself and tried to sense his Master  
once again. His task was cut short when several people rushed  
past him and knocked him to the ground. He tried again but  
could not feel his Master through the Force.

The confusion around him did not make the situation any better.  
His stomach seemed to react violently with every movement he  
made. He started to walk towards the smoke. His movement was  
further slowed by the many pedestrians that seemed to have the  
same idea he had.

* * *

The Washington D.C. police arrived quickly on the scene of the  
accident. The firemen and two ambulances were soon to follow.  
The pedestrian who was struck was quickly loaded into the  
ambulance as were three women who had driven into a light pole  
to avoid the car which had caught on fire. Several officials  
were called to the scene and the police kept busy by  
controlling the large crowd of onlookers whom quickly gathered.

No one noticed the two figures in long hooded cloaks that moved  
away from the excitement.

* * *

Obi-Wan helplessly observed the chaos around him. It had taken  
him several minutes to make his way to the source of the smoke.  
When he arrived he saw his Master lying on a stretcher as it  
was being loaded into a vehicle. Obi- Wan could not get close  
enough to seen Qui-Gon clearly. The vehicle left the scene and  
he could not follow where it went. To make matters worse,  
several people leaving the area had shoved him. Ahead of him he  
could see smoke and flames coming from a vehicle of some kind.  
Workers were trying very hard to put the fire out. Obi-Wan say  
a man in a dark blue uniform directing people away from the  
area. Suspecting that he was an authority figure, Obi-Wan  
decided to approach him for information.

He took one step forward and completely lost his balance. His  
stomach flared violently as he fell to the ground. Obi-Wan felt  
himself shake as he braced himself on all fours.

Something gave way in Obi-Wan's composure. He felt as though he  
couldn't take any more frustration and started fighting against  
it in his own mind. In an odd sensation his frustration seemed  
to build into something more. A spark of the Force surged  
inside him. It felt as though his anger and frustration were  
one wave flowing towards a second wave that was the Force. He  
felt energy building inside him as they the waves came  
together. Before that happened, Obi- Wan felt a nudge against  
his foot.

"Hey you," he heard a voice say.

Obi-Wan felt his anger dissipate with the shock of someone  
talking to him. He opened his eyes to see a woman standing in  
front of him.

"Yeah you!" She said. "Quit broadcasting and get a hold of  
yourself now." She held out her hand. "Get up."

The woman appeared to be human and was younger than Qui-Gon.  
She had dark brown hair and eyes that held no amusement in them  
what so ever. She wore a long tan coat that hung open.  
Underneath that she had on some sort of black pants suit. She  
also had on a pair of shoes that had so much material missing,  
Obi-Wan couldn't imagine them being functional.

"I don't have all day," the woman said as she shook her hand in  
Obi-Wan's face.

Obi-Wan accepted her help and stood up. A wave of nausea hit  
him as soon as he got back to his feet.

"Great!" The woman said and grabbed him roughly by the arm.  
"Come on." She led him quickly to the park and over to a waste  
receptacle.

Obi-Wan didn't try to control his nausea and emptied the  
contents of his stomach into the receptacle. As soon as he did  
he started to think more clearly. He realized how he had almost  
let his anger take over. The woman must have noticed his  
shudder because he felt her move a hand to his shoulder. A wave  
of calm washed over him. He closed his eyes and took a deep  
cleansing breath, concentrating on the living force around him.  
He detected a strong source of the light nearby and he drew on  
it to help control his body and his mind. The light engulfed  
his spirit and he felt his anger leave him completely. Only  
guilt remained.

He felt calm when he looked at the woman again. He quickly  
realized she was the source of the force he had been drawing  
on. She looked at him with a curious expression and handed him  
a small white cloth folded into a square.

"Thank you," he said as he accepted the handkerchief and wiped  
his face off.

"What's your name Padawan?" The woman asked. Her face was still  
impassive but the tone of her voice had softened.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"And where is your Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi?" She asked.

Obi-Wan thought for a moment.

"Be mindful of the Force," he heard Master Yoda's words echoing  
through his memory. "Where you need to be, it shall take you."

"I don't know." Obi-Wan said at last. He then spoke on impulse.  
"Are you a Jedi?"

There was a brief moment of surprise in the woman's expression.  
However, instead of reacting she just stared at him and  
continued to breathe evenly.

"Please," Obi-Wan found the courage to speak again. "You have  
to help me find my Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. I believe he was  
injured. I say him lying on a stretcher and being loaded into a  
large vehicle. I don't think he was conscious."

"Where?" She asked and Obi-Wan pointed towards the vehicle that  
was no longer burning.

"The vehicle he was being loaded into, did it have flashing  
lights on it?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "And a siren."

The woman reached into an inner coat pocket and pulled out a  
rectangular device. After pressing several buttons she held it  
up to her ear and mouth.

"Chi, its Maury. Call me back as soon as possible. It's  
urgent."

She looked at the device and pressed more buttons. After a  
pause she was communicating through it once again. She looked  
over to the smoldering vehicle as she spoke.

"Hey Harry, it me." She said and then paused. "No, just and  
engine fire that got out of control. I don't think it is  
anything we need to worry about. At least not until DCPD  
forensics has a look. Listen, something has come up. Mind if I  
skip out for the rest of the day?" She paused again. "Will you  
shut down my computer for me?" She paused again and Obi-Wan saw  
a slight smile at the corners of her lips.

"Thanks Harry," she said. "I owe you one."

She closed the communicator up and turned back to Obi-Wan,  
taking a deep Breath as she addressed him again.

"Your Master was taken to the nearest hospital, Washington  
General. My brother, Malachi, is a doctor there. He'll find  
your Master and take good care of him." She paused and Obi-Wan  
noticed the first real change in here demeanor.

"How are you feeling?" She asked with apparent concern.

"Better" Obi-Wan replied.

She jerked her head to the nearest road.

"My car is just over there." She said. "Come on. We'll get you  
something to settle your stomach and then we'll talk about your  
Master."

* * *

Malachi Lee unconsciously swiped at his pager when it vibrated  
on his hip.

"Maury," he mumbled to himself as he finished up some emergency  
room paperwork. "You'll just have to wait."

The Emergency Room at Washington General was an unexpected mad  
house. Usually on bright and sunny days people weren't as eager  
to come in with injuries. Most realized their injuries weren't  
that bad, and preferred to quickly throw on a Band-Aid or take  
an aspirin and continue playing outside. Today was an  
exception.

"Dr. Lee, exam three." A heavyset nurse came up to Malachi.  
"Little boy with a gash on his forehead. Possible eye injury."

"How's he doing?" Malachi asked.

"Kids fine, but his mother is a mess. Yelling at everything  
that moves. Sounds like she's right up your alley." Joanne  
smiled a wide grin. "But don't worry Malachi, I'll protect  
you."

Malachi snorted and grinned in return. He then looked at the  
full ER waiting room.

"What happened Joanne?" He asked as he picked up the boy's  
chart.

"I heard a car bomb went off downtown. Someone probably tried  
to off the President."

"Republicans must be getting restless with the election coming  
up," another nurse added as she hurried past them into an exam  
room. "They think they'll have a better chance running against  
the Vice President."

"A car bomb isn't republican style. They're all packin." Joanne  
called after her. "Democrats are more likely to blow someone up  
and make a big show out of it."

"Let's just keep all weapons out of the hands of all  
politicians, shall we?" Malachi spoke as he walked towards room  
three. "Maybe we'll make the world a safer place."

"Amen to that!" Joanne agreed as she followed him.

The boys cut was not serious and his eye was not injured.  
Malachi was Quickly able to dispel the mother's fears, which is  
why he was given the case to begin with. The entire ER staff  
wondered how Dr. Lee could make even the most distraught  
patients relax. But rather than question it, Joanne used it to  
an advantage. She never questioned Malachi and made sure that  
the patients that needed the most comfort, children especially,  
got a chance at what she referred to as 'Dr. Lee's Special  
bedside manner.' Of course she was the first one to give him  
trouble about it whenever she could.

Malachi was just finishing up the last of the boy's stitches  
when he felt it, a life Force. Everyone had them but this was  
different. Malachi briefly thought of his sister but dismissed  
the thought. He could still feel her presence, even across  
town. This was someone new, someone strong with the Force, and  
someone in pain.

"Dylan, you're going to be fine." He reassured his patient and  
then turned to the boy's mother. "Joanne will give you some  
forms that will tell you how to take care of his cut. I'll  
write a prescription for some antibiotics just to be on the  
safe side but you want to make sure you keep it clean. His  
pediatrician will take the stitches out in a couple of weeks."

"Thank you Doctor," the mother said. "Could you please tell  
me..."

Malachi felt the new life Force quickly growing weaker and he  
stood up.

"Mrs. Keisler," he spoke as he backed toward the exam room  
door. "I think Joanne can answer all of your questions."

Ignoring Joanne's stunned expression he left the room and  
followed the Force signature he felt across the hall. He stood  
outside the door to exam room one and saw the man lying on the  
exam table. The man was unconscious but Malachi could feel the  
Force radiating from him.

As if in slow motion Malachi entered the exam room and watched  
as the ER staff stripped the clothes from the man's body. They  
were traditional Jedi robes. Malachi had never seen anyone  
alive wear them before. His grandfather had opted to wear  
clothes more suitable for farming in Northern Missouri. His  
funeral had been the one and only chance Malachi and Maureen  
had to see him so adorned, before he was cremated.

While he had rarely seen the uniform Malachi knew it  
intimately. He watched and checked off the name and purpose of  
each piece as it was removed from the Jedi's body. The outer  
cape. The inner tunic. The belt and the boots. The belt...

"What do you think this thing is?" Malachi heard a nurse say as  
he held up the Jedi's lightsaber.

"Who knows," someone else said. "I've given up trying to figure  
out what people carry on the street."

The lightsaber was tossed on a cart to Malachi's left but  
Malachi continued to focus on the man on the table. He vaguely  
heard the discussion around him. Someone mentioned something  
about x-rays, hemorrhaging, and shock.

Without even questioning himself, Malachi moved to the Jedi's  
head. The man's skin was cold but Malachi could feel his Life  
Force though his fingertips. There were broken ribs, a  
punctured lung filling with blood, and a mild concussion.

The Force called to Malachi and he responded. This was what he  
was meant to do. He could not completely heal the wound but he  
could control the damage. He focused on directing all the man's  
torn blood vessels close and function normally. Slowly the  
internal bleeding subsided; the lung functioned as it was  
supposed to Malachi turned his focus to the remaining injuries.

"...Lee, Dr. Lee." Broke into Malachi's concentration. "Hey  
Malachi!" The words finally caused him to look up from the  
Jedi.

"You okay?" His co-worker, Dr. Chadwick, asked.

Malachi ran his fingers though his dark hair and nodded his  
head.

"Yeah, sorry." He replied.

"You know this guy?" Dr. Chadwick asked.

Malachi made a split second decision.

"I was never here," he said with a wave of his hand. The three  
ER attendants turned back to their patient. Dr. Chadwick heard  
a noise and saw Malachi looking into the room from outside the  
exam room door. After a moment Malachi turned away.

"Must have changed his mind," Dr. Chadwick muttered and went  
back to the task at hand.

In the doctor's lounge Malachi felt his hands tremble as he  
dialed his sister's phone number.

* * *

Maureen Lee felt the disturbance in the Force the moment she  
pulled up outside the Mall. In a world with very few Force  
sensitives it was easy to detect a Life Force pattern change.  
Instead of dwelling on it Maury decided to focus on her job.  
Her grandfather had always emphasized patience and she knew the  
source of the disturbance would reveal itself, given time.

She got out of her car and walked towards a group of DC police.  
After four years in the FBI's anti-terrorism unit she knew the  
local police well enough not to have to flash her badge when  
she entered the scene of a crime. It was a courtesy that Maury  
appreciated. Very few policing agencies like the FBI. It was  
distrust founded in jealousy, lack of communication, and  
politics. Maury, however, felt very little of that tension in  
the field. She was well respected by the local police because  
of what they called her "good instincts."

"How do you always stay so calm?" Her old partner Kenny had  
asked. "You and your brother both."

"Kenny," she laughed in response. "If you only knew."

Maury also believed in communication and did nothing to cause  
problems with other agencies. When someone is being held  
hostage at gunpoint there is no place for political games.

Captain Benton waved to her when he saw her, and she smiled in  
response.

"Sorry to waste you're trip Agent Lee," he said. "Appears to be  
a simple car fire. So much for German engineering, huh?"

"Was anyone hurt?"

"In the fire, no. No crispy critters this time." The Captain  
reasoned. "But there were several people on the street when the  
flames got going. Another vehicle hit a pedestrian and a second  
accident sent some tourists to the nearest hospital. I don't  
know how bad anybody was."

They noticed several people with official looking badges were  
making their way into the scene.

"Great," Captain Benton said. "Just what I need. More men in  
black." He quickly turned to Maury with a smirk. "No offense  
Agent Lee."

"None taken Captain." Maury offered a soft smile in comfort.  
"This close to the Mall you're going to get every agency out to  
inspect. Besides, it's been a slow week."

"I know," Captain Benton straightened his tie as he spoke. "Why  
do you think I got pulled out from behind my desk in the first  
place? Here goes nothing."

"Go get 'em Captain," Maury called as he headed towards the new  
comers.

She watched the firemen in action for a few minutes and allowed  
herself to become aware of changes in the Force. There was a  
distinct signature of anger present and Maury felt the hair on  
the back of her neck stand up.

She turned to try and pinpoint the source of the sensation. It  
was nearby. Through her line of work and her good 'instincts'  
she was very good at picking out people carrying negative  
energy. She followed the direction of the Force to a young man  
sitting on the ground just outside the mall.

The one item that confused her was his clothing. The  
traditional Jedi robes contradicted the negative feelings he  
projected. Things continued not to make sense after she  
approached him either. His anger was quickly brought in check  
when she talked to him. After he had gotten sick she realized  
he was calling on the Force to calm himself. It had taken him  
sometime, indicative of one not in complete control of the  
Force. His appearance confirmed Maury's suspicion that he was  
just a Padawan, the short braid behind his ear, the ripped  
shoulder of his tunic, the burn on his cheek.

Maury remembered her Grandmother telling her the story of how  
she had first met Grandpa. He had been in much the same  
condition, sick to his stomach and wandering helplessly on a  
country road in Missouri. Grandpa had later referred to his  
condition as 'Vortex-Lag' in a play of words on earthly Jet  
Lag. Maury also remembered her Grandfather lovingly holding her  
Grandmother's hand.

"Where who I be, Anna, if you hadn't picked me up on that  
road?" He asked her so many times in Maury's memories.

Maury couldn't turn away from Obi-Wan just like her grandmother  
hadn't turned away from her grandfather. Besides, there was a  
question as to why Obi- Wan was there in the first place. Other  
than introducing herself, she didn't speak as she drove him to  
a McDonald's and sat him down in a booth in the back. At that  
time of day it would be easy to talk without anyone overhearing  
them.

"Try this," she said as she placed a vanilla milkshake in front  
of him. "Its sweet but ice cream usually settles my stomach  
when I'm sick. Hopefully it will work for you."

She placed her cell phone on the table in front of her and took  
of her coat. She realized Obi-Wan probably got a glimpse of her  
9-mm under her suit coat but she didn't care. He had  
lightsaber. The weapons weren't equal but were both effective.

Obi-Wan sipped the drink tentatively at first and then spoke.

"You never answered my question."

Maury sighed before she responded.

"You're right. I sure didn't." She said. "Tell you what,  
Obi-Wan. I'll answer your questions truthfully if you promise  
to answer mine. Do we have a deal?"

When he nodded she continued.

"My Grandfather was a Jedi Knight. He came to Earth, this  
planet, several years ago. He trained Malachi, my twin brother,  
and myself in the Jedi arts."

"Then you are a Jedi."

Maury grimaced a little.

"Not really. Grandfather believed he had trained us well with  
the resources he had available. Unfortunately around here those  
resources are limited. Chi and I simply are who we are. We just  
happen to be Force sensitives, using it to enhance our  
abilities, not dominate them."

"Are there others like you?" Obi-Wan asked, sipping on his  
shake with more interest.

"There are Force Sensitives here but very few people can  
control the gifts they have. The Living Force is present but  
midichlorines are few. Earth simply lacks a natural deposit of  
them. Those who do have a natural concentration usually don't  
have a strong enough one to do anything with it. If there is  
anyone else here who is Force sensitive and trained in the Jedi  
Arts, we haven't found them."

Maury thought a moment before she continued.

"Obi-Wan, I have to warn you. It is the general nature of  
people here to fear things they don't understand. Force  
Sensitives are usually referred to as psychics. They are often  
ridiculed and have been persecuted in the past. Grandpa always  
taught my brother and I discretion. You have to be discreet as  
well."

She watched Obi-Wan's reaction with interest. He slumped a  
little and started scraping the wax off the cup in front of  
him.

"What about Qui-Gon?" He didn't look at her as he spoke.

"I left a message for my brother. When he calls me back I'll  
explain the situation and he'll find your Master." She tried to  
reassure him. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

There was something else bugging the kid. Maury recognized  
guilt in his posture.

"You haven't been with him long, have you?" She asked.

Obi-Wan shook his head, again without looking up. Maury decided  
to try another approach.

"Do you always get angry?"

Her question was answered with wide eyes.

"You were projecting pretty strongly." She continued, not  
wanting to scare him. "It's easy to do if you haven't had a lot  
of practice in control. How old are you, Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan looked away again.

"I turned thirteen a few weeks ago." He said, a flush spreading  
across his cheeks. "I shouldn't have gotten so angry. Master  
Qui-Gon would not be happy with me if he knew."

"Obi-Wan, were you in a fight? Is that why you're here?"

"I don't know why we're here," he tried to explain. "I had an  
accident while I was practicing today."

He went on to describe the events that had led up to He and  
Qui-Gon coming through the Portal. Maury sat quietly and  
listened as Obi-Wan told her all the frustrating details. She  
remembered her own frustrations while training with her  
grandfather at night and on weekends and trying to be a normal  
kid the rest of the time. When Obi-Wan finished he started  
playing with the cup again and Maury could tell he was holding  
something back.

"We'll Obi-Wan," she smiled softly. "You have officially been  
hit with what is known as a bad day. They'll be more of them,  
so you might as well learn to live with it." She motioned for  
him to move closer across the table. "But there are a few  
things we can do to remedy the situation."

She placed her hand over the burn on his cheek and concentrated  
on it, calling on the living Force to heal the tissue there.  
When she removed her hand Obi-Wan's cheek was considerably less  
red.

"Healing techniques are Chi's department," she explained. "But  
I can handle the easy stuff. As for your tunic, we can go  
shopping for a new shirt. I doubt you are as clumsy as you make  
yourself out to be, Obi-Wan. You're probably just going through  
a growth spurt. That's something else you are going to have to  
get used to, I'm afraid."

Obi-Wan thought for a moment.

"I guess I hadn't thought of it that way," he finally said.  
"Thanks."

"Someone once told me that when you feel out of control,  
sometimes doing a simple thing, one that you know how to do,  
can help you regain your control and our composure."

"Your grandfather?" Obi-Wan asked.

Maury smiled a genuinely friendly smile.

"Actually it was my grandmother."

The cell phone rang and Maury picked it up quickly, already  
knowing it was Malachi on the other end.

"Hello."

"You'll never believe who got brought into the E.R." Chi said.

"I'm hoping it is a Jedi Master named Qui-Gon Jinn," Maury  
replied. Obi-Wan looked at her in anticipation and there was a  
pause on the phone.

"Do I want to know how you know this?" Chi asked.

"I'm sitting across from his Padawan Learner," Maury said. "How  
is he?"

"He's unconscious so I can't verify his identity. He has long  
sandy brown hair and a beard and mustache. He's a big man and I  
guess he's in his late forty's." Chi spoke as he watched  
Qui-Gon being taken to X-Ray.

Maury relayed the description to Obi-Wan who confirmed it was  
his Master.

"That's Master Jinn," she said into the phone.

"He's got some broken ribs and is still unconscious. He  
apparently got hit by a car but I think he's going to be okay."  
Malachi paused for second time before speaking again. "Any idea  
why they're here?"

"All Obi-Wan knows is that they had to follow someone through a  
portal. He and Qui-Gon got separated before Qui-Gon could fully  
brief him." Maury could mentally feel her brother's  
apprehension.

"A portal, huh?"

"Grandpa always said this could happen," she responded.

"Yeah, I know." Chi replied. At the mention of his grandfather  
a sense of responsibility kicked in place in his brain.  
"Listen, my shift doesn't end until six. I'll keep an eye on  
Master Jinn and see if I can get him out of here quietly."

A wave of frustration hit Maury as her brother spoke.

"You okay?" She asked.

Chi leaned his head against the wall he was standing by and  
sighed. "I'll tell you about it later. Okay Maureen?"

"Yeah. Call me if you need me."

"Hey Maury," he caught her before she hung up. "He's gonna need  
some clothes and a new pair of shoes."

"We'll take care of it. Later."

Chi hung up and made his way to the front desk.

"No, it was a cylinder, about a foot long and make of stainless  
steel." One nurse was talking to Joanne.

"What's that used for?" Joanne asked.

"I have no idea," the nurse replied. "But it disappeared. I  
could have sworn I put it with that John Doe's clothing. The  
one that got hit by the car."

"Well, give me a minute and I'll help you look for it." Joanne  
returned and looked at Malichi. "Hey Dr. Lee! You got a  
prescription ready for that Jerome kid?"

Back at McDonald's Maureen slid out of the booth to put her  
coat on.

"Your Master is fine," she assured Obi-Wan. "He's unconscious  
and a little banged up but Malachi is looking out for him.  
He'll be there when Qui- Gon wakes up."

Maury could see the relief in Obi-Wan's face.

"Now," she continued with a smile, "we have to go shopping."

* * *

As he regained consciousness, Qui-Gon felt a wave of nausea  
flow through him that he couldn't control. Suddenly there was a  
pair of strong hands helping him to his side and supporting his  
head. He didn't have the strength to fight and gave into the  
nausea. After the spell subsided he felt one of the hands  
moving to the back of his neck, cool fingers positioning  
themselves along his vertebrae. A reassuring Force flowed over  
Qui-Gon.

"Master Jinn," a voice spoke. "Can you hear me?"

Qui-Gon looked up to see a young man standing over him. As he  
became more awake the pain in his body became more pronounced.  
His side and his head hurt, and there was an oddly cool  
sensation on the back of his hand. As if sensing his pain, the  
young man moved his fingers along the base of Qui-Gon's skull  
and closed his eyes in concentration. The pain was relieved.

"That should make you feel better," Malachi said as he eased  
Qui-Gon back in the bed.

"Where am I?" Qui-Gon asked, still having trouble focusing.

"You're in a hospital," Chi replied and gave a nervous glance  
around the room. When he spoke again he used a hushed tone.  
"You're on a planet called Earth. The nausea you feel is your  
body's reaction to traveling through the Portal of Rasme. It  
should go away soon."

Malachi raised Qui-Gon's bed as he continued.

"You are also suffering from four broken ribs, a bruised pelvis  
and a mild concussion." Malachi continued. "But you're going to  
be okay."

"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon spoke as he felt his strength slipping away.

"He's fine. He's with my sister Maureen." Malachi moved closer  
to Qui- Gon. Even in his current condition Qui-Gon could sense  
the seriousness of what Malachi was about to say next.

"Master Jinn, you have to listen to me. They don't know about  
the Jedi Order here. They don't know about the Force. Anything  
you do with the Force will be looked at with suspicion. Do you  
understand?"

Qui-Gon looked at Malachi and nodded.

"Get some rest. I'll come back when you wake up."

Qui-Gon needed no help in falling asleep.

* * *

* * *

Part III

Qui-Gon woke to the feeling of a tugging sensation on the back  
of his hand, and the sound of nearby voices.

"Sir?" One voice asked. "Can you hear me, sir?"

Qui-Gon opened his eyes to find a man, different than the one  
who had been with him earlier, attaching a new bag to the tube  
in his hand.

"Sir," the man spoke again. "I'm Dr. Chadwick. You're in  
Washington General Hospital. Can you tell me your name?"

"Jinn," Qui-Gon rasped out.

"Mr. Jinn, do you remember what happened to you?"

Qui-Gon thought a moment, trying to make sense of what had  
happened to him. The warning from his previous visitor was  
foremost in his mind.

"I hit a building." He finally replied.

Dr. Chadwick smiled and Qui-Gon heard someone else in the room  
chuckle.

"It is probably more appropriate to say you were hit by a car  
and then thrown into a building." Dr. Chadwick spoke as he put  
a strange looking device in his ears. "I need to listen to you  
chest. I want you to sit up and take as deep of breath that you  
can."

Qui-Gon did as he was told. With each breath he became more  
aware of his surroundings. The cold of the device against his  
chest helped to awaken his senses as well. The stethoscope was  
moved to his back and after a few minutes Dr. Chadwick was  
shaking his head and taking it out of his ears.

"Mr. Jinn," he said, wrapping his fingers around Qui-Gon's  
wrist and looking at his watch. "You are one lucky man. With  
the impact you took you're lucky you didn't puncture a lung."

Another man in the room, wearing a blue uniform, stepped closer  
to Qui-Gon's bed.

"Mr. Jinn, I'm officer Ramone. The man who hit you was swerving  
to avoid a car fire. You'll be happy to know he was properly  
insured."

Dr. Chadwick shined a bright light in Qui-Gon's eyes as Officer  
Ramone continued to speak.

"Mr. Jinn, I'd like to ask you a few questions for our  
records."

"You don't need to ask him any questions."

Qui-Gon recognized the man who had been with him earlier as he  
walked into the room. The police officer closed the notepad he  
was holding.

"I don't need to ask you any questions." Officer Ramone said.

"You can contact me if you need to." Malachi spoke as Qui-Gon  
recognized the Force control the young man had.

The Officer repeated what Malachi had said and Malachi turned  
his attention to Dr. Chadwick. Again Malachi's words were  
mimicked.

"I normally keep people with possible head injuries overnight.  
However, I'll make an exception in your case. You're free to  
leave once this IV is done."

Qui-Gon watched as the men left the room. Malachi held his hand  
out and finally made a proper greeting.

"Master Jinn," he said. "I'm Malachi Lee."

"You're a healer." Qui-Gon spoke as he shook hands.

"We call ourselves doctors here." Malachi responded with a  
smile.

"You've taken me by surprise, Dr. Lee. I wasn't expecting to  
find any trained Force sensitives this far from..." Qui-Gon  
paused as he considered this unexpected turn of events.

"From Coruscant." Malachi finished for Qui-Gon. "Yes, I  
understand. My grandfather was a Jedi. He came here through the  
Portal of Rasme over fifty years ago our time." He looked at  
Qui-Gon steadily as he continued. "I have a twin sister named  
Maureen. She has been trained as well."

Qui-Gon took in what he was being told and asked, "Your  
grandfather, what was his name?"

"Noipreen Delco."

A faint recognition showed in Qui-Gon's eyes.

"I know that name." He spoke with some astonishment. "He was an  
earlier apprentice to my Master."

Chi turned his attention to the floor and rocked on his heels.

"That would be Master Yoda," was his reply. Qui-Gon could see  
that Malachi was not frowning, but he was not smiling either.  
It was the same look Yoda had when discussing the same man.  
Qui-Gon unconsciously rubbed his stomach as he thought. Seeing  
this, Malachi responded immediately and started unhooking the  
IV.

"The bathroom is right over there," Malachi spoke as he worked.  
"Once I unhook this you will be able to move about more freely.  
One of your ribs nicked your left lung but I managed to keep  
the injury from getting worse. You'll have to take it easy,  
however. I can only do so much. If it gets re-injured we may  
have to operate."

"I'll take it easy then." As a test Qui-Gon tried to send out  
some reassurance through the Force but immediately felt the  
other man's shields. They were so tight Qui-Gon could almost  
see his attempt at reassurance bouncing off Malachi.

Malachi picked up a bundle of clothing he had brought into the  
room earlier and handed it to Qui-Gon.

"It's standard procedure to cut off any clothing that gets in  
our way when working with a patient." Malachi said. "I'm sorry  
but you lost most of yours. You can put these scrubs on for  
now. Maury and your Padawan are out shopping for you as we  
speak."

Qui-Gon speculatively eyed the blue scrubs Malachi had handed  
him.

"Oh," Malachi said as he reached into an inner pocket of his  
lab coat and pulled out Qui-Gon's lightsaber. Handing it to  
Qui-Gon he continued. "I held on to this for safekeeping. The  
rest of your things are in my car. Get dressed and I'll take  
you home."

"Thank you."

* * *

Maureen threw a package of T-shirts into a shopping cart as  
Obi-Wan exited a dressing room, carrying a pair of jeans.

"They fit okay?" She asked.

Obi-Wan nodded in reply.

"How tall is Master Jinn?" She asked, watching Obi-Wan  
intently.

Obi-Wan frowned slightly before he answered.

"He's very tall." As he spoke he pointed to the '5" mark on the  
measuring tape outside the dressing room. Then he frowned again  
and became interested in the pattern on the carpeting below his  
feet.

"Are you always this quiet?" Maureen asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I seem to be the only one asking questions here."  
Maureen started looking through stacks of jeans. "You're going  
to have to start asking more questions when you're on missions  
or you won't learn anything about the cultures you're working  
with. Or did you sleep through that lesson back on Coruscant?"

Again Obi-Wan didn't meet her gaze.

"Obi-Wan, will you please tell me what's wrong?" She lowered  
her shields enough for Obi-Wan to gain a sense of her  
sincerity. "I'd like to help, if you'll let me."

Obi-Wan looked at her with a sad expression.

"Your brother is bringing Master Jinn to your house?" It was  
more of a statement than a question.

"Yes." A frown creased Maureen's brow as she replied. "Is there  
a reason why you don't want to see him?"

Obi-Wan ran his hand over the stack of clothes in front of him.

"I want to see him." His voice was a little shaky. "It's just  
that I got angry today. Really angry."

"Yes. Getting angry isn't always a bad thing, Obi-Wan." Maureen  
tried to explain. "It is how you deal with that anger that  
matters."

"Master Jinn lost his last apprentice to the darkside of the  
Force. He almost didn't take me as his Padawan because of  
Xanatos." Obi-Wan sighed and then continued. "He didn't want me  
at first. No one did. Everyone said I have too much of a  
temper."

Maureen thought for a moment and started flipping through  
shirts on a rack in front of her.

"About two years about I got shot while on duty. My partner  
Kenny and I were following up a lead on a possible air plane  
bombing. What we didn't know was that our suspect was having a  
fight with his girlfriend when we knocked on his door. Law  
officers hate domestic disputes because you never know what can  
happen.

"Anyway, we knocked on the door and the suspect let us in.  
About that time the girlfriend jumps into the room and emptied  
ten rounds from a 9mm gun. It's a weapon that fires projectiles  
called bullets. It's the same type of gun I carry for my job.

"I woke up in intensive care four days later. Chi was there  
with me. I had taken two bullets to the chest." She paused a  
moment before continuing. "Kenny wasn't so lucky. He died  
before the ambulance got to the scene. He and I had been  
partners ever since I had graduated from the Bureau's Academy.  
He had three kids, all under the age of twelve. After Chi told  
me Kenny had died I got really angry. Kenny was a good friend,  
partner, father, and husband. To me it didn't seem fair that he  
was the one who got killed."

Maureen threw a shirt into the cart and started moving toward  
the shoe section. Obi-Wan followed.

"What did you do?" He asked.

"I closed down and felt sorry for myself. I didn't leave my  
apartment. I didn't exercise. I wouldn't talk to anyone, not  
even Chi. I was horrible to myself but I was worse to everyone  
else. And then Chi had enough of my self pity and decided to do  
something about it."

"What did he do?" Obi-Wan urged her to finish the story.

"He took me downstairs. We live above a warehouse that is used  
as a Parks and Recreation Center. They have different classes  
there, including martial arts training which Chi and I help  
teach. Anyway, he took me downstairs, handed me my lightsaber  
and told me to do my damnedest."

"You have a lightsaber?" Obi-Wan's eyes were bright with  
surprise and Maureen chuckled a bit at his reaction.

"Yes, we both have lightsabers. Grandpa didn't leave Coruscant  
without bringing some supplies with him" She smiled at Obi-Wan  
and leaned on the cart to finish her story. "Knowing the  
dangers of my anger, Chi still challenged me to fight him. It  
was a brave move on his part because he really sucks with his  
lightsaber. Up to Jedi standards, I'm sure we both do, but he  
hadn't beaten me for close to twelve years."

"What happened?"

"I gave him everything I had. I put every ounce of anger and  
frustration into my fighting. I felt all-powerful and I could  
feel the draw of the darkside. That's when my overconfidence  
got the better of me. I tripped and Chi gave me a second-degree  
burn on my shoulder. I still have a scar."

Obi-Wan looked away and Maureen could tell he was considering  
all that she had told him.

"Chi and I have a unique perspective on evil." She continued.  
"Through our work we've both seen the damage caused by anger  
and hatred. Nobody wins with the darkside. But I needed someone  
to show me that, to teach me how to control my anger. That's  
why the Jedi have the Master-Padawan system. It is important  
that you learn from those who have more experience than you do.  
I don't know your Master, but I do believe that he will want to  
help you. You have to tell him what you're feeling. You need to  
keep those lines of communication open or you'll both lose."

Obi-Wan nodded distantly. He was still considering what he had  
been told and what he was going to tell Qui-Gon.

"Now," Maureen said in an ice breaking tone as she looked at  
the bottom of a pair of boots. "How big are your Master's  
feet?"

Obi-Wan looked at her and wrinkled up his nose.

* * *

It was the books that Qui-Gon first noticed when he entered the  
twin's apartment. The walls were filled with shelves of them  
stacked every way imaginable. Malachi tossed his keys onto a  
table and started turning on lights.

"Here we are," he said moving down a hallway. "The guest  
bedroom is right in here and the bathroom is the next door  
down. Clean towels are under the sink."

Qui-Gon only half heard what Malachi was saying as he took in  
his surroundings. He was drawn to as grouping of pictures on  
one wall. Qui-Gon could easily recognize Malachi's sister  
because of the resemblance. In one picture the twins were  
hugging an elderly couple from behind. The older man's face  
brushed at Qui-Gon's memory.

"This is your grandfather," he said.

"That's right." Malachi confirmed and pointed as he spoke.  
"That's he and grandma at their 40th wedding anniversary. This  
one is of our parents. They were killed in a plane accident  
when Maury and I were very little. Our grandparents raised us.  
And no, mom was not Force sensitive." Malachi added the last in  
answer to Qui-Gon's unspoken question.

"I take it your grandfather is no longer living?" Qui-Gon  
asked.

"No." Malachi smiled a sad smile. "They both died when we were  
in college. Grandma got sick and died first. Grandpa took her  
death very hard and died a year later. It's been just Maury and  
me ever since."

"Hello," Maury called from the kitchen as she and Obi-Wan  
entered through a back door. They dumped a number of bags on  
the kitchen table. "You home?"

Qui-Gon and Malachi walked into the kitchen in response. The  
room brightened visibly when Obi-Wan saw Qui-Gon.

"Master," he said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"I'm happy to see you too, Padawan." Qui-Gon replied as he put  
his arm around Obi-Wan and hugged his shoulders, a genuine  
smile on his face. "And you must be Maureen." He extended his  
hand to Malachi's sister.

"Please, call me Maury." She replied and introduced Obi-Wan to  
her brother. After introductions the twins fixed a light meal  
and filled the two Jedi's in on different aspects of the United  
States and Earth in general. After dinner Qui-Gon felt he had a  
better understanding of his surroundings and he talked about  
why he and Obi-Wan had traveled there.

"The Portal of Rasme was created over a century ago. It was  
created by a Jedi who believed the Force could be utilized to  
travel without the aid of a vehicle." Even though he was  
addressing the twins as well as Obi-Wan, he directed his  
attention towards his Padawan. "Master Rasme studied the Force  
and meditated constantly to achieve this goal. He was so in  
touch with the Force when he passed into it, that he was able  
to direct his life force to become the portal, the very  
manifestation of the Force he had been looking for all his  
life."

"That doesn't sound bad." Obi-Wan said. "What did Master Rasme  
do wrong?"

"Nothing," Qui-Gon answered in a voice Obi-Wan recognized as  
his Master's teaching voice. "For all purposes Master Rasme  
intended the portal to be his last gift to the Jedi."

"But even though something is created with good intent doesn't  
mean it will be used with good intentions." Obi-Wan sounded as  
though he were thinking out loud.

"Very good Padawan." Qui-Gon knew a lesson had been learned.  
"At first the portal was use with good intentions. The outcome,  
however, was difficult to control. You didn't always end up  
where you thought you would. To compensate for this Rasme had  
left a key of some sort to help control the portal. Then a  
disturbed Padawan by the name of Putain Grigor found the  
portal's temptation to be to great. He stole the key, entered  
the portal and never returned."

"But others have traveled through the portal knowing they  
didn't have the key to control it," Obi-Wan pointed out. "Why?"

"I don't know Padawan." Qui-Gon looked at the twin as he spoke.  
"At least not this time."

Obi-Wan noticed the exchange of looks between the three.  
Quietly Maureen fiddled with the pendant on her necklace. Her  
brother was sitting with his arms crossed and not meeting  
anyone's gaze.

"Apparently there was a rebellion within the Jedi Order."  
Maureen looked to Qui-Gon who nodded for her to continue. "It  
was peaceful but it caused a lot of hard feelings. Those who  
had opposed the council decided they could no longer abide by  
the council's rules so they left through the portal."

"The council gave them little choice in the matter." Qui-Gon  
added. At this Malachi looked at Qui-Gon.

"You are obviously not a council member, Master Jinn." As he  
spoke Malachi's feet twitched nervously on the coffee table  
where they rested.

"Was your grandfather one of the rebels?" Obi-Wan asked as he  
tried to put the pieces together.

"No. But Grandpa didn't agree with the council's decision to  
force the rebels to leave." Malachi continued the story. "He  
had recently passed his trials when his Master, Master Yoda,  
took a council seat. They argued over the council's decision.  
Before they had a chance to resolve their differences Grandpa  
left Coruscant through the portal. It was his way of  
protesting."

Qui-Gon watched as Maureen shivered involuntarily and Malachi  
continued his defensive posture.

"Master Yoda saw that they portal was sealed so that it could  
never be used in that way again." Qui-Gon tried to reassure the  
twins. "He rarely speaks of your grandfather. I know he is very  
sorry that they never had the chance to overcome their  
differences."

"Well, we can't change the past." Maureen sighed as she spoke  
and turned the conversation to the present. "If someone took  
the risk of entering the Portal of Rasme, without any  
guaranteed way of returning, they probably believe they can  
find the key to control the portal. That has to be their  
motive. So what does this key look like?"

Qui-Gon shook his head.

"The time lines between our worlds are different. All this  
happened before I came to Coruscant. The portal is rarely  
spoken of. Students aren't even told about it until they study  
Rasme's teaching in the later years of their education."

"How many students are we talking about?" Maureen asked.

"At least fifty. Then there are all the Jedi who have been  
knighted. We number in the thousands."

"So much for narrowing down the field on who came here before  
you." Maureen commented with a sigh. "I'll admit, I'm not sure  
where to start with this one."

"Grandpa might have a clue." Malachi got up and pulled a large  
book out of a bookshelf. "He kept a journal for most of his  
life. Maybe he had an idea about this key." He handed the  
well-worn book to Qui-Gon as he continued. "Most of it contains  
writings on things grandpa didn't want to forget. Things he  
tried to teach us about the Jedi and his life before he left  
Coruscant. If he did have an idea on the key it would be in  
here."

"I'll look it over." Qui-Gon agreed.

Obi-Wan noticed he was starting to miss parts of the  
conversation. The next thing he realized was his Master  
encouraging him to go to bed for the night.

* * *

Qui-Gon was reading the journal when Obi-Wan woke up. He sat in  
a chair by a window in the quest room. Framed in sunlight  
Qui-Gon looked as intimidating as ever.

"Is something bothering you Padawan?" Qui-Gon asked without  
looking up from his reading.

Obi-Wan knew there was no need to pretend he was sleeping so he  
sat up.

"I didn't mean to rip my tunic Master. Or burn my cheek, or  
trip in the hall at Coruscant." As he spoke Obi-Wan looked at  
his hands in his lap. "I just wasn't having a good day."

Qui-Gon had a crease across his forehead when he closed the  
journal. He moved to the edge of the bed and tugged on  
Obi-Wan's braid, a signal for his Padawan to look at him.

"I know you didn't do these things intentionally Padawan."  
Qui-Gon spoke with sincerity. "I was concerned, but things  
being as they are, I haven't had the chance to tell you."

"You shut me out."

Qui-Gon sighed in response.

"Yes I did Obi-Wan, and I need to apologize for that. I guess I  
wasn't having a good day either. This business with the portal  
has a lot to do with council politics, and always manages to  
bring out my anger. Yesterday you showed up a bad time for both  
Master Windu and myself. Please don't take his comments  
personally. As for our link, I closed it so that you could  
enjoy your day off and not be distracted by my emotions. It has  
been a while since I've had a Padawan, Obi-Wan. It's going to  
take me some time to get used to having one again."

"But I am your Padawan? The council knows this?"

"Of course," Qui-Gon said, the crease on his forehead was back.  
"Master Windu and Master Yoda were extremely pleased. Frankly  
the rest of the council members had given up on me ever taking  
a Padawan again. Nothing against you Obi-Wan, but I think they  
paid more attention because it was I who was taking a Padawan."

Obi-Wan relayed his conversation with Bruck along with the  
other problems he had with Bruck and his friends in the past.  
When he finished Qui-Gon was leaning back against one of the  
posts of the bed.

"No one's opinion matters but your own Obi-Wan." He spoke  
quietly. "Before you became my Padawan you were, in a sense, in  
competition with the other students at the creche. The Jedi  
aren't supposed to promote this sort of competition but I know  
it exists between students trying to be chosen as Padawans. Now  
you don't have to compete that way anymore. The only one you  
are competing against is yourself. And you may find yourself to  
be a fierce competitor, the only one who can really hold  
yourself back."

"I imagine guilt can be part of that." Obi-Wan spoke but didn't  
look away from his Master.

"Go on."

Obi-Wan told Qui-Gon of the events and his emotions that led up  
to his meeting with Maureen. Qui-Gon never flinched at what he  
was being told. He simply sat quietly and listened.

"I wasn't sure I should tell you all this," Obi-Wan finished.  
"I was afraid because of Xanatos."

The corner of Qui-Gon's mouth curved up into a sad smile.

"Do you know, Obi-Wan, that I can never remember having this  
conversation with Xanatos? Maybe if I had, if Xanatos had been  
brave enough to be honest with me, I wouldn't have been so  
blind to his faults. But then again, he would have been a much  
different person.

"Padawan, I am not pleased that you became angry." His blue  
eyes seem to look into Obi-Wan's soul as he spoke. "But I would  
be more upset if I found out you were trying to face your anger  
without asking for my help or listening to me. You do have an  
aggressive temper."

Obi-Wan straightened his shoulders quickly but Qui-Gon raised a  
hand and continued.

"And so have many other Jedi's. We have all been exposed to the  
dark power of the Force, on more than one occasion. That's why  
everyone must be a Padawan before they become a Jedi Knight. My  
job as your Master is to teach you and help you through the  
rough times. What you felt yesterday won't be the last of it.  
The more you learn about the light of the Force, the more you  
will learn about the darkside."

"The more we control, the more we need to learn control,"  
Obi-Wan repeated a basic temple lesson.

"Exactly."

"I guess it's a good thing I met Maury when I did." Obi-Wan  
said with a smile. "What do you think?"

Qui-Gon thought a moment but was reluctant to return Obi-Wan's  
enthusiasm.

"I think," he said after a moment, "that it is a good thing we  
met both Maureen and Malachi before anyone else did."

* * *

Maureen walked into the kitchen drying her hair with a towel.  
She reached towards her brother as he poured a cup of coffee.

"Gimme, gimme, gimme." She tried her best to sound desperate.

Malachi handed her the cup and she sank into a kitchen chair as  
she took a large gulp.

"That's better," she said with a smile on her face.

"You're pathetic." Malachi shook his head at her.

"Thank you Mr. Pot-Calling-the-Kettle-Black!" Maureen replied  
as she continued to grip the cup with both hands, savoring the  
aroma. "Do you think they have coffee on Coruscant?"

"Grandpa never mentioned it," Malachi said as he sat down  
opposite her. "I made a full pot, just in case."

"Then I hope they don't so I can drink Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's  
share." She took another drink and then set the cup down so she  
could look at her brother clearly. "So, are you going to tell  
me what's bothering you or do I have to guess?"

"I don't know." Malachi frowned and thumbed the edge of his  
cup.

"Then let's begin with that little stunt you pulled last  
night."

Knowing his sister wouldn't stop questioning him until he told  
her the truth Malachi gave in to her inquiry.

"Qui-Gon was Master Yoda's Padawan." Malachi finished his  
coffee and moved to the sink to rinse the cup out.

"So?"

"So, every time I think about Master Yoda it bother's me,"  
Malachi continued. "He's the reason Grandpa left Coruscant.  
Doesn't that bother you?"

Maureen grabbed an orange from a bowl on the table and started  
to calmly peel it. "Nope," was her only reply.

"Well, it bothered Grandpa," Malachi flared at her.

"No, it didn't." Maureen was still calm. "It may have bothered  
Jedi Knight Noipreen Delco, but it did not bother our  
grandfather."

"What's the difference?" Malachi asked in exasperation.

"Grandma," she said as she started eating. "And mom and us.  
Grandpa said that he thought he would never feel anything as  
painful as fighting with his Master and leaving Coruscant  
without reconciling with Master Yoda. That was until Grandma  
died." Maureen looked seriously at her brother. "You know that.  
You were there after Grandma's funeral when he told us."

When Malachi didn't meet her eyes she continued.

"Look, I understand that this bothers you. It would bother me  
too if I took the time to dwell on it, but I don't. And unless  
I've missed my guess, Grandpa's fight with Master Yoda isn't  
what's bothering you."

Malachi fumbled with his mug and Maureen waited for him to  
speak.

"I used the Force on Dan Chadwick yesterday. Twice." He spoke  
quietly. "I've never done that to one of my coworkers before."

"You've used it on patients to calm them down. Right?"

"This is different." Malachi paced a little as he spoke. "I  
wasn't helping Dan. I was wiping his memory so he didn't know I  
was there."

"But you were helping Master Jinn," Maureen pointed out. "Don't  
forget that."

"How can I forget it?" He threw his arms wide as he spoke. "I  
was helping a Jedi. All my life I've known one Jedi, Grandpa.  
And suddenly one shows up in the ER. I've been a plain old  
doctor for years and now I have to start depending on the  
Force. At least Master Jinn is human so I could help him." He  
stopped and groaned a moment. "What in the hell are we gonna do  
if those other two aren't human?"

"Hang on a minute," Maureen held her hand up to derail her  
brother's train of thought. "One issue at a time here. Since  
when do you have to stop being a plain old doctor?"

"Since they're here!" He pointed out into the apartment and  
lowered his voice.

"I don't see that at all." She sat back in her chair,  
scrunching up her face. "Master Jinn and Obi-Wan are here to  
stop whoever came here before them. And let's not worry about  
what species they are until we know exactly who we're dealing  
with." She looked sternly at her brother before she continued.  
"The fact that the Jedi Council sent Master Jinn and Obi-Wan  
here indicates to me that they aren't happy with the situation  
either. They don't want others doing the same thing."

"Okay," Malachi returned her seriousness, "that may not be what  
the Council wants, but what about those other two? We don't  
know what they want."

"We'll find them."

Malachi paced a little more.

"You know," he started. "It never bothered me that Grandpa  
wasn't from Earth. It just didn't. And I didn't question the  
Force or how to use it. I guess I thought I'd never have to.  
When I saw Master Jinn, when I felt his presence, I realized  
that I had to really use the Force. That I'm not a normal  
doctor."

"Chi, you never were a normal doctor!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"How many doctors do you know are licensed chiropractors?  
Practice acupuncture? Hell, you've got a whole shelf full of  
books on herbal medicine and aromatherapy. Does Dan Chadwick  
know any of those things?" She shook her head and continued.  
"You didn't learn about alternative medicines because of the  
Force. You did it because you really like to help people. And  
you aren't closed minded enough to believe drugs are the only  
way to heal. Don't let this situation try to change you into  
something you're not. Just be yourself."

Chi thought for a moment and looked at her with a smile forming  
at the corner of his mouth.

"I guess you do have a point." He said "Since when did you  
become the wise one?"

"I didn't." Maureen replied as she started working on her  
orange again. "I actually paid attention to the speech you gave  
me after Kenny was killed."

Malachi smiled and nodded. He grabbed a wadded up paper towel  
that was lying nearby and flung it at Maureen.

"Brat!" She spoke as she returned the favor with a piece of  
orange peel. It was only then that they noticed their exchange  
was being observed by Qui-Gon.

"Good morning," Chi chuckled as he spoke.

 

 

* * *

* * *

Part 4

For the first time since meeting them, Qui-Gon had the chance  
to really look at the twins. The fact that they were brother  
and sister was apparent in their physical appearance. They both  
had dark brown hair; cut just below the chin on Maureen and  
slightly longer on Malachi. Their eyes were the same shade of  
brown. Even though Malachi sported a full, closely cropped  
beard and mustache, Qui-Gon could see they had the same shaped  
face, down to their slightly crooked noses. They were both  
shorter than Qui-Gon but they would be considered tall by any  
standards, and they were both physically fit.

It was the little things they did that proved them to be twins.  
They both tilted their heads to the left when they smiled. They  
unconsciously used the same hand gestures and had the same  
posture. There was also the ease in which they communicated  
with each other that made it clear they were bonded. It would  
have been obvious even if the Force didn't flow through them as  
freely as it did.

Qui-Gon stopped making comparisons at Malachi's greeting.

"Good morning," he replied and entered the kitchen. "I didn't  
want to intrude." He was smiling now that some of the tension  
had left the atmosphere.

"Well, the clothes seem to fit," Maury commented. Qui-Gon stood  
before them wearing a dark blue T-shirt beneath a long sleeved  
denim shirt and blue jeans. Maury looked beneath the table.  
"Any of the shoes fit?"

Qui-Gon rocked on his heals in a new pair of tennis shoes.

"Yes," Qui-Gon replied. "You and Obi-Wan succeeded."

Malachi looked at the tennis shoes and then at his sister.

"Not exactly standard Jedi issue there Maury." He commented.

"Give me a break!" She returned to her brother with a  
challenging look.

Malachi laughed at her and turned to their guest.

"You'll have to excuse Maury, Master Jinn. Mornings aren't her  
best time of day. Can I offer you something to drink while I  
fix breakfast? We have a drink called coffee or I can make you  
a cup of tea."

"Tea would be fine." Qui-Gon moved slowly to take a seat.

"How's the side?" Maureen asked as she held her coffee cup out  
for her brother to refill.

"Sore," Qui-Gon said as he tried to mentally shake the  
stiffness that had settled in over night. "But it will pass."

"Good. Take it easy and everything should be okay." Malachi  
spoke as he placed a cup of hot water and tea bag in front of  
Qui-Gon. He then raised an eyebrow at Maureen as he refilled  
her cup.

"I don't want it to go to waste." She explained with mock  
innocence.

Qui-Gon missed the exchange as he looked at the tea bag in  
front of him speculatively and then slowly lowered it into his  
cup.

"I haven't had the chance to properly thank you for all you  
have done for my Padawan and myself," Qui-Gon said.

"Not a problem. The Force takes you where you need to be."  
Maureen took a drink of coffee as she spoke. When she looked  
back at Qui-Gon, he was staring at her.

"I'm sorry." She suddenly became concerned and Malachi turned  
his attention to Qui-Gon as well. "Did I say something wrong? I  
meant no disrespect." Qui-Gon shook his head.

"It's all right," he said and smiled to reassure the twins.  
"I'm just not used to hearing Jedi lessons spoken from someone  
not taught at the temple. I am sorry that you have had this  
thrust upon you."

Malachi shrugged and turned back to frying a pancake.

"Grandpa always taught us to be prepared." He flipped the  
pancake as he spoke. "He believed he wasn't the first Jedi to  
come to Earth through the portal. He said it would be foolish  
to think he would be the last."

"Your Grandfather was a very wise man. I can tell as much from  
reading his Journal."

"Thank you, Master Jinn," Malachi smiled as he replied. "That  
means a lot."

Maureen quietly tugged on her necklace and smiled as well. Her  
smiled turned into a laugh as Obi-Wan entered the room wearing  
jeans and a Bruce Lee T-shirt.

"Obi-Wan," Maureen said, "that shirt is absolutely you." She  
then turned to head off any questions Qui-Gon may have had. "He  
was a popular martial artist here. Kids Obi-Wan's age get a  
kick out of wearing shirts with all sorts of stuff on them.  
He'll blend in just fine."

Qui-Gon was about to comment when a telephone started ringing  
in the next room.

"Great," Maureen stood up to retrieve her cell phone.

"So much for taking the day off," Malachi said as she left the  
kitchen. "Good morning Obi-Wan. Sit down and I'll serve you  
some pancakes. They're my specialty."

"Good morning Malachi, Master." Obi-Wan said as he sat down.

Malachi froze as Obi-Wan's words.

"Oh, you might want to refrain from using the term master when  
you're here," he said. "People here have a hard time with  
underage kids calling adult males master. It might make someone  
suspicious."

"We understand," Qui-Gon assured him. "Obi-Wan go ahead and use  
my name for the time being."

Malachi set a plate of pancakes in front of his guests and was  
about to join then at the table when his head snapped in the  
direction of his sister. Qui-Gon rose from his seat and  
followed Malachi into the next room. Obi-Wan was at his heels.

Maureen was listening to the phone. She didn't speak but  
pointed at a closet door. Malachi nodded and moved in the  
closet's direction. Maureen opened a closed compartment on a  
book shelf to reveal a safe. The two Jedi watched as she  
twisted the controls of a primitive lock and opened the safe.  
She pulled out her handgun and checked the clip.

"It's a type of blaster," Obi-Wan explained to Qui-Gon in a  
hushed tone. "It fires projectiles."

"I understand Harry." Maureen said into the phone. "I'll be  
there as soon as I can." As she hung up Malachi pulled a heavy  
black vest from the closet and threw it to her.

"What?" He asked.

"Hijacking," she answered as she pulled the bullet-proof vest  
into place. "Tour bus downtown. DC Police are sending a car."  
She turned her attention to the two Jedis. "Bus hijackings are  
common only in the movies here."

"You think it may be the other Jedi?" Qui-Gon questioned her.

Maureen shook her head.

"I won't make any assumptions until we get there, but there is  
a chance." She buttoned a shirt over her vest as the sound of a  
police siren could be heard just outside the apartment. "You  
can come with me but you have to promise me you stay out of the  
way and do exactly what I tell you." Turning to her twin, "You  
got your bag?"

"Yeah," Malachi responded as he a black leather bag into a  
backpack.

"All right." Maureen placed her 9mm in her shoulder holster and  
walked up to Qui-Gon. "I'm going to have to ask you to give  
your lightsabers to Malachi. He'll keep them in his backpack  
and he'll stay with you."

Obi-Wan looked wide-eyed to his Master for guidance.

Qui-Gon's blue eyes locked with Maureen's brown. "No," was  
Qui-Gon's firm answer.

"Master Jinn," Maureen unconsciously rolled her shoulders  
before squaring them. "This world is decades away from  
lightsaber technology. "

"But what about the other Jedi?" Obi-Wan asked.

Qui-Gon's eyes never left Maureen, even as she looked away to  
answer Obi-Wan's question.

"We don't know if this is them." She said. "But I can assure  
you that the first person that pulls a lightsaber in a public  
situation like this, will have half the United States Military  
down their throats in a very short time." She looked back to  
Qui-Gon. "I'd rather they not be going after either of you."

"I'll stay with you or I will give them back to you if we have  
to separate." Malachi added.

"Please Master Jinn," Maureen requested. "At least until we  
know what we're up against here."

As she spoke the siren could be heard stopping just outside the  
building. Qui-Gon unhooked his lightsaber and handed it to  
Malachi, instructing Obi-Wan to do the same. Malachi put them  
in the backpack when someone starting pounding on the door. He  
quickly turned off the stove and followed his sister.

"Coming," Maureen called and opened the door up to reveal a  
uniformed officer.

"Agent Lee?" The officer asked.

"Yeah, let's go," she answered not wanting to waste time. When  
the officer hesitated after seeing Malachi, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan  
head towards the door Maureen raised her hand and added, "We  
don't have time for this. They're coming with us."

The officer turned and headed down to his car, aided by a  
slight brush of the Force.

* * *

The ride to the location of the bus was short and uneventful.  
Malachi quietly explained why cars moved out of the way of the  
police car they were riding in and why they were effectively  
locked into the back seat of the car. Soon they came upon a  
police blockade. Maureen was out of the door the moment the car  
stopped. Malachi and the Jedi's quickly moved to an area where  
onlookers were gathering.

"I'm here." Maureen took a deep breath as she alerted he boss  
to her presence.

"Good," Harry Eatinger said and held up a hand, concentrating  
only on the FBI agents around him. "Harris, Tyler, see what you  
can do about moving this crowd back. Johnson, pass the word  
that we are going to make a switch."

He finally concentrated on Maureen by grabbing her upper arm  
and heading towards the bus.

"Thanks for coming Maury." He said. "This one's weird."

"Who are we dealing with?" She was speaking to her boss but  
neither of them looked at anything but the bus standing by  
itself in the foreground.

"That the problem. We don't know."

"You mean the kidnappers won't identify themselves?" She asked,

"I mean we have yet to speak to anyone we can identify as  
having taken over the bus."

Maureen stopped and looked at Harry as he continued.

"At approximately 8:15 am. tour shuttle number four left  
Arlington National Cemetery to make it's usual stops around the  
mall. It made routine stops at the Washington Monument, Lincoln  
Memorial, Smithsonian, Air and Space Museum and the White  
House. It was on it's way to the Jefferson Memorial when it  
just stopped." Harry nodded to the bus before continuing.  
"Someone on board has a cell phone because they called 911.  
We've had the line patched through and I've got Bill Faber  
trying to talk with them now.

"And?"

"And the phone just keeps getting handed off from one  
hysterical tourist to the next."

As they continued their approach Maureen noticed Agent Faber  
had one hand knotted in his own hair as he talked into a hands  
free microphone. Sweat marks were starting to show around the  
bulletproof vest he wore. Maureen tried to project a feeling of  
calm to him as she listened to her boss.

"Kidnappers don't usually allow their hostages to make a lot of  
noise like that," Maureen thought out loud.

"Hell," Harry snorted in reply. "We're not even sure how many  
people are on board. Thirty seven got on at Arlington but with  
all the stops they have made, who knows."

They finally got close enough to Faber to hear his half of the  
conversation.

"Ma'am, if you could just calm down and give the phone to who  
ever is in charge. I know you are scared ma'am, but ma'am..."  
Faber started to pace as he spoke.

"Do we know what's being used to hold the bus?" Maureen asked.

"We assume someone has a gun, but there could be a bomb. We  
can't get the hostages to agree on anything. We don't even have  
a consistent count of the number of kidnappers. We do have  
sharpshooters in place but they haven't been able to identify  
anyone through their scopes."

Maureen could help but let her chin drop in disbelief as she  
looked at Harry once more.

"Welcome to hell Maury," Harry said with a grim smirk. "You  
ready?"

Maureen nodded as her boss signaled they were about to move her  
into position. She used the Force to brush against Faber's  
shoulder. It got his attention because he turned around and  
made an excuse into the phone so he could make his exit.

* * *

Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Malachi stood at the back of a crowd of  
onlookers and watched as Maureen walked towards the bus alone  
with her hands open and held out to the sides for the hijackers  
to see her clearly.

"This is what Maury does best." Malachi watched his sister  
intently as he spoke. "She's a damn good listener in these  
situations."

On his right hand Malachi started thumbing a simple ring he  
wore. Qui-Gon observed the similarity to the way Maureen played  
with her necklace.

"Negotiations skills are very important," Qui-Gon offered.  
"Especially in our line of work."

"Mast...Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan grimaced a little in using his  
Master's real name. "Something doesn't feel right."

"I agree," Qui-Gon said as he continued to watch the bus.

Malachi glanced at Qui-Gon and nodded before returning his  
attention to his sister. He started thumbing his ring more  
quickly.

* * *

Maureen lowered her shields to take in the Force around her.  
There was an unnatural darkness centered around the bus and she  
let out an involuntary gasp at the chill that swept over her.  
She collected herself quickly and focused on being calm as she  
waited for the phone to ring.

* * *

The crowd pushed in around Qui-Gon and he felt slightly annoyed  
at the distraction. He still needed to heal and found it  
difficult to maintain his calm.

"George?" A voice said next to him. "George, dude, it's got to  
be you, man."

Realizing he was being addressed Qui-Gon turned to see a man  
close to his own age with long graying hair drawn into a braid.  
He wore a bandanna around his neck and a white T-shirt with a  
picture of a skull and a red and blue circle on the front.

"It's me George," the man pointed to himself. "Arnie, from  
Chicago."

"I'm sorry, you must be mistaken." Qui-Gon assured the man and  
turned his attention back to Maureen who was obviously talking  
to someone through her headset.

"No man," Arnie was persistent. "It's me."

Qui-Gon looked at Arnie and considered what he could do to  
quietly make Arnie less of a distraction.

"Hey man," Malachi interrupted to help Qui-Gon out. "Jerry  
Garcia lives."

"Oh you know it!" Arnie beamed. "Long live the Dead."

"Hey, did you see Rosie over there?" Malachi asked Arnie and  
pointed to the opposite end of the crowd. Arnie's eyes went  
wide as he spoke.

"No, is she here?"

"Yeah man," Malachi continued. "I think I saw her over there by  
those buildings."

"Really," Arnie was quite interested and started moving in that  
direction. "Thanks bro."

After he left, Qui-Gon turned to Malachi.

"The Dead?" He asked.

Malachi was focusing on his sister but let out a slight smile.

"They're a music group. I'll tell you about it later."

"I see," Qui-Gon sighed as he spoke, but his voice did not give  
his frustration away. He tried to center himself and remembered  
Obi-Wan. He was considerably surprised to find that Obi-Wan was  
no longer standing on the other side of Malachi.

"Obi-Wan?" He called. Malachi turned to look for the missing  
boy as well.

"There he is." Scanning the area Qui-Gon saw his Padawan  
exiting the crowd and running behind a building. Qui-Gon  
started pushing his way through the crowd to follow him.

"Qui-Gon wait!" Malachi called as he nervously looked back at  
his sister and then to the Jedi Master. He glanced once more at  
his sister and then started after Qui-Gon. With his back turned  
he didn't see Maureen hold her hands out in a stopping motion  
as the bus jerked forward and started driving in her direction.

* * *

* * *

Part 5

Obi-Wan noticed the back of the Jedi cloak as the figure  
wearing it pushed their way through the front of the crowd. He  
looked nervously at Qui-Gon and Malachi who were busy talking  
to a stranger. The figure in the cloak moved away from the  
crowd and headed towards a nearby alley. Not wanting the Jedi  
to get away, Obi-Wan followed, making his way quickly through  
the crowd.

When Obi-Wan entered the alley the Jedi in front of him  
stopped. Obi-Wan stopped in response, his anticipation made it  
impossible to speak. For several moments only the bottom of the  
Jedi's cloak moved as it swayed slightly in the breeze. Then  
the Jedi jerked to life and sprinted towards the end of the  
alley.

As the Jedi ran a mass of golden hair and a padawan braid fell  
out from the hood. Obi- Wan didn't let his surprise stop his  
pursuit. He still could not see the Jedi's face clearly but he  
suspected it was one of the older padawans.

Obi-Wan chased the other padawan through a maze of back alleys  
and side streets. Finally, the padawan ducked around yet  
another corner. When Obi-Wan followed he found himself blocked  
by a tall fence. The other padawan had obviously used the Force  
to help them climb the fence because he or she was already over  
it and well across the construction site on the other side.  
Obi-Wan quickly climbed the fence and jumped to the other side.  
He landed on the other side with his ankle twisted and he  
briefly fell to the ground. He got up and limped after the  
other padawan.

He was halfway across the construction site when he noticed the  
other padawan had again stopped in front of him. Obi-Wan slowed  
down to accommodate the pain in his ankle and felt frustrated  
at his clumsiness. The Jedi just stood still; their back turned  
to Obi- Wan. As he approached Obi-Wan grew angry with the other  
Jedi. It was their fault he had fallen. It was their fault that  
he had come to this world in the first place.

In an easy manner the golden-haired padawan walked away from  
Obi-Wan.

"Of all the arrogance," Obi-Wan gritted through his teeth. His  
limp became more pronounced and his frustration grew. Not  
seeing a large rock in front of him, Obi-Wan tripped and landed  
in the dirt. The Jedi didn't look back. Obi-Wan slammed his  
palm against the ground and cursed. A bitter grimace crossed  
his face. The other padawan came to another fence and smoothly  
climbed it.

The padawan's profile revealed nothing to Obi-Wan. The padawan  
was female was definitely older than Obi-Wan. She was in an age  
group that didn't have much contact with Obi-Wan's group.  
Obi-Wan's shoulders trembled as he watched her walk away. He  
would have to tell Qui-Gon he had lost her.

Thinking of his Master, Obi-Wan took a deep breath to center  
himself. Some of his frustration left as he exhaled. A tendril  
of guilt plagued him once again as he pushed himself to his  
feet. He turned back to where he had entered the lot to find  
his Master and Malachi on the other side of the fence. Qui-Gon  
was doubled over and Malachi was gently lowering him to the  
ground.

Maureen rubbed her temples as she studied the smashed car in  
front of her. It was the car she had been standing in front of  
just moments before, when the bus had started rolling toward  
her. The bus hadn't been going very fast, but it moved fast  
enough to total the front end of a car that had been it's only  
blockade.

The pounding in her head seemed to alter Maureen's perception  
of what was happening. FBI agents were rushing around her as  
dazed passengers started filing off the bus. She felt someone  
brutally shove her to the ground. Distantly she heard Harry's  
voice telling her to lie still. As she lay there the oddest  
sensation washed over her. It was as if she had been swimming  
in the deep end of a swimming pool. The strange pressure was  
dissipating around her and she slowly cut through the fog of  
her senses.

"All clear," someone yelled from the bus. Harry dragged her to  
her feet.

"What the hell were you doing standing there like that Maury?"  
He asked as he turned her around to look at her, his hand  
firmly gripping her upper arm.

"I'm not sure what happened," Maureen stammered in reply.

"I'll tell you what happened," Harry continued. "When that bus  
started rolling you moved out of its way. Not very quickly, I  
might add. Then you just froze as it collided with Agent  
Wilkin's Taurus. And you just stood there when we stormed the  
bus. You know better than that Agent Lee. We're you trying to  
get yourself shot?"

The use of her last name shook the final cobwebs away from  
Maureen's mind.

"What we got?" Harry asked an agent who was just leaving the  
bus.

"We've got nothing sir," he said. "No guns, no kidnappers, no  
nothing."

"You're kidding me?" Disbelief colored Harry's words.

"I just heard one of the passengers say there was no kidnapper  
and he was demanding to know what's going on."

Maureen carefully considered all that she had heard. Somehow  
she knew this turn of events was connected to the pressure she  
felt when she started trying to negotiate with those on board  
the bus. As was her norm, Maureen tried to send out a calming  
effect to those she was talking to over the phone. This time  
when she used the Force, however, it did not have the desired  
effect. She felt a strong sensation of darkness and quickly  
became engulfed in a feeling of pressure. The pressure had  
slowed her responses and she had been sluggish to move away  
from the bus. When the bus had collided with the car she felt  
something snap within the Force around her.

"I guess it's a good thing they didn't find any guns. Right  
Agent Lee?" Harry asked sarcastically and then roughly released  
her arm.

Maureen followed Harry as he walked towards the bus. Paramedics  
were working with the bewildered passengers. The FBI agents  
started moving off the bus to make room for the forensics team.  
As one of the men exited Maureen noticed he kicked a small rock  
out of the bus. Maureen saw that Harry was preoccupied so she  
moved over to stand by the rock. She bent down as if to brush  
the dirt off the front of her jeans and quickly palmed it. The  
rock vibrated as it came in contact with her hand. As she had  
suspected, it was Force sensitive.

Sliding the rock into her pocket she turned her attention to  
the crowd of onlookers, already sensing that Malachi was not  
there. She brushed off the paramedic that Harry had sent to  
check on her and moved to her boss' side. It was time to let  
the forensics crew do their job, even though Maureen was  
already certain they would find nothing.

 

 

It had only taken Qui-Gon a minute to push through the crowd  
and follow his apprentice. He was initially concerned over  
Obi-Wan's disappearance but now he was more concerned with the  
boy's impulsiveness. That trait was quickly becoming a problem  
for their Master-Padawan relationship. But Qui-Gon also knew  
that Obi-Wan had seen something important to make him act so  
quickly.

He was able to follow Obi-Wan's progress through the alleys,  
catching glimpses of him as he rounded corners and dodged  
behind buildings. Luckily these streets were empty with almost  
everyone in the area going to see what was happening with the  
bus.

Qui-Gon tried to keep up with his padawan despite the  
tenderness in his side. He had not fully healed from the blow  
he had sustained and his muscles were constantly reminding him  
of their discomfort. He also suspected that his discomfort was  
well known to Malachi who was only a few paces behind and  
gaining on him quickly.

When Qui-Gon rounded the last corner his breathing had become  
labored. He stopped at the fence and then made an effort to  
climb it. The strain on his side was too much. A bolt of pain  
swept through him and it was all he could do to cling to the  
wire of the fence without falling. He watched helplessly as  
Obi-Wan fell to the ground and the other padawan escaped. A  
strong pair of arms encircled his torso and supported him,  
helping him off the fence. Malachi supported him as he gently  
lowered Qui-Gon to the ground.

"Easy Qui-Gon," Malachi said as he performed an initial check  
of the Jedi Master. "I need you to lie still. Take deep  
breaths."

Qui-Gon flinched when Malachi touched his side but he continued  
to breathe without interruption. He heard Malachi breathe a  
sigh of relief.

"We you didn't do yourself any good, but I think you'll live."  
Malachi said grimly. "Qui-Gon you have to give yourself time to  
heal."

They looked up to see Obi-Wan scaling the fence near them.

"Mast...Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan corrected himself. " Are you  
alright?"

"I'll be fine Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon assured him. "You should not  
have run off like that."

Obi-Wan hung his head.

"I'm sorry Master," he said quietly.

"We'll discuss it later," Qui-Gon said as he slowly moved to  
his feet with Malachi's help. "Did you recognize the padawan?"

"I don't know her name but I've seen her before," Obi-Wan  
offered after thinking a moment. "She's older than me. She's a  
blond human. I think I've seen her with Master Bereethe."

Qui-Gon closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. Deep  
breaths were coming easier to him.

"I believe Master Bereethe's padawan was a blond female." He  
spoke quietly. "And Master Bereethe is an expert on Master  
Rasme."

Malachi noted the frown Qui-Gon wore on his otherwise placid  
face. He did not try to stop Qui-Gon when he moved to stand up.  
He could see Qui-Gon's shoulders were slightly forward.

"A friend of yours?" Malachi asked.

Qui-Gon nodded but did not look up from the ground.

Obi-Wan caught everyone's attention when he asked, "What about  
Maury?"

Malachi focused on his sister for a few moments. He became  
confident she was all right as he noticed members of the  
construction crew returning to their work in the adjoining  
field. Apparently the show was over.

"She's fine," he said. "But she'll probably be busy for a  
while. I suggest we take the subway home and let Qui-Gon rest.  
I'll call Maury and let her know. She will meet us as soon as  
she can."

Malachi started walking away, keeping a close eye on Qui-Gon.  
The Jedi Master walked as if there were lead weights holding  
him down. This bothered Obi-Wan who fell into step beside him.  
After a moment Qui-Gon placed his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder  
and gave his apprentice a sad smile. The group traveled in  
compatible silence until they made their way back to the  
apartment.

It was almost 5:00 p.m. by the time Maury made it home. She  
heard noises coming from one of the recreation rooms below the  
apartment and stopped in there before going upstairs.

Malachi and Obi-Wan were in full sparring gear, going through  
some basic Taekwon Do fight combinations. Maury stood in the  
doorway and watched them for a moment. Obi- Wan was obviously a  
fighter but was just as obviously unfamiliar with hand to hand  
fighting techniques.

"Keep your guard up Obi-Wan," Maureen shouted in encouragement.  
"Chi has long legs, be prepared."

Obi-Wan managed to hold his own very well but was no match for  
the seasoned black belt. In an unguarded moment Obi-Wan found  
Malachi's left foot on inch away from the right side of his  
head. Malachi slowly retracted his leg and smiled.

"And that's why you need to keep your guard up," He said.

"I haven't had much training in hand to hand combat." Obi-Wan  
panted as he started removing his headgear.

"Let me guess," Maury said as she walked into the training  
room. "They concentrate on lightsaber practice first."

Green eyes bobbed as Obi-Wan nodded.

"Makes sense," Malachi added. "Weaponry takes more time to  
master. Especially a lightsaber." He turned his full attention  
to his twin. "I needed a work out and Obi-Wan obliged. What did  
you find out?"

Maury crossed her arms in front of her and sighed.

"Where's Qui-Gon?" She asked.

"Upstairs resting," Malachi answered. "He should be doing much  
better now. I made him concentrate on healing himself."

* * *

"The forensics team found nothing," Maury paced the living room  
as she spoke. "Not that I expected them to find anything."

"We know the other Jedi who are involved," Qui-Gon said from  
the sofa he had been resting on. "That will help us."

"Easy for you to say, Master Jinn. Our people have a hard time  
with things they can't explain."

"It would have been helpful if I had caught Master Bereethe's  
padawan." Obi-Wan frowned as he spoke.

"You must focus on the moment Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon instructed.  
"Not dwell on the past. Perhaps some meditation is in order  
while I hear what Maury has to say."

"But..."

Qui-Gon lifted his hand and gently pointed at Obi-Wan.

"Your anger has gotten out of control twice since we came  
here." Qui-Gon's eyes copied the seriousness of his voice. "You  
cannot risk letting it overtake you at a more inappropriate  
time. Our success depends on clear thinking."

"Yes, Master."

When Obi-Wan had settled himself in the kitchen the  
conversation started again in the living room.

"As I was saying," Maury continued. "It will be frustrating  
dealing with this hijacking knowing what I know and not being  
able to tell anyone."

"As long as we can stop these two Jedi, without anyone getting  
hurt, this problem will eventually go away." Malachi offered.  
"But how did they manage to take control of the bus in the  
first place."

Maureen reached into her pocket, pulled out the stone she had  
picked up at the bus site, and tossed it onto the coffee table  
in the middle of the room. The pale green color of the stone  
was reflected in the shiny wood below it.

Qui-Gon picked it up to inspect it.

"Correlian marcasite." He said as he handed it to Malachi.  
"I've never heard of it being Force sensitive before."

"This rock was on the bus." Maureen said. "Is it possible that  
the Jedi used it to control the hostages?"

Qui-Gon said nothing for a long time. Malachi noticed the pause  
but continued to inspect the stone. After a few minutes Maureen  
grew restless.

"Excuse me," she glared at Qui-Gon impatiently. "I asked you a  
question."

Qui-Gon looked directly at her.

"I was trying to remember if I had heard of such a thing." His  
face was grim. "I don't believe I have. But, it is possible."

"Thank you," Maureen punctuated her words by returning  
Qui-Gon's glare back to him. She started pacing again.

"So they used this as an amplifier for the Force?" Malachi  
asked.

"Hello," Maureen gave him and exasperated look and pointed to  
Qui-Gon. "He just said that. Weren't you listening?"

"Well excuse me," Malachi threw back at her. "You don't need to  
jump down my back. I didn't take a bus load of people hostage."

Qui-Gon looked from one sibling to the other and shook his  
head.

"I don't think either one of your attitudes is helping this  
situation."

"Back off Master Jinn," Malachi glared. "We didn't exactly ask  
for this."

Maureen responded by moving closer to her brother and fixing  
him with a hard stare.

"Yes, I think we've already discussed that this morning."

"Apparently, you both were not well trained in dealing with  
sibling rivalry." Qui-Gon spoke under his breath but loudly  
enough for the twins to hear him."

"And just what it the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Obi-Wan sat in a lotus position in the kitchen and concentrated  
on his breathing. He tried centering on his frustration and  
letting it diffuse into the Force. As he tried, however, he  
felt it bouncing back into his being. He continued to  
concentrate and try and pinpoint the source of his problem. A  
sluggish feeling draped over his thoughts and he started to  
feel an overwhelming sense of pressure in the force. It was  
forcing his anger back upon Obi- Wan.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes in realization. It wasn't his fault  
that he had lost control of his anger. Someone or something was  
using his emotions against him. It was the same as when he had  
first come to Earth and when he had tried to confront Master  
Bereethe's padawan.

"I have had enough of this bickering!"

Qui-Gon's yelling caught Obi-Wan's attention. He moved into the  
living room where his Master, Malachi, and Maureen were all  
yelling at each other.

Fighting back the impulse to give into his frustration and join  
the argument, Obi-Wan tested the Force to find the source of  
the disturbance. He eyes were quickly drawn to a pale green  
rock sitting on a table between the other three. Obi-Wan could  
feel the negative energy emanating from this stone.

He looked around quickly and noticed two pieces of metal  
tubing, a little larger than the size of a lightsaber, sitting  
on a bookshelf. One tube was silver and the other black. Obi-  
Wan grabbed the silver one and noticed a small light bulb  
behind a polymer sheet on one side. Despite the plastic end the  
tube felt solid. Obi-Wan stepped over to the arguing adults and  
slammed the rod down on the rock, smashing it into smaller  
pieces.

* * *

* * *

Part 6

Qui-Gon inhaled deeply and blinked his eyes. The tension of the  
room splintered and broke apart, like the piece of marcasite  
Obi-Wan had smashed. The air seemed cleaner as if some choking  
gas had been vented. Across from him Malachi sank down into a  
chair, face slightly gray with fatigue and Maureen pressed her  
fingers against her temples as if fighting a headache. The  
tightness in her features betraying her pain.

Obi-Wan's face wore a sheen of sweat and his skin was  
unnaturally pale.

"The stone," Obi-Wan looked to his Master, his voice a little  
dazed. "I think it had something to do with my anger. Or at  
least, something was helping me lose control, just like it was  
doing to the three of you."

"I think you're right, Padawan. I believe Master Beerethe and  
his Padawan were able to channel emotions using this stone as  
an amplifier."

"The fear on the bus," Maureen commented with an effort, still  
rubbing her temples. "People have become more and more afraid  
of terrorist acts in the U.S."

"My guess is the stone amplifies an emotion already present."  
Qui-Gon added.

"That would explain why the people on the bus overreacted to  
nothing," Maury agreed. "And our frustration."

"So much for emotional control." Malachi frowned.

"We are still human," Qui-Gon assured them. The trace amount of  
humor in his voice had a comforting effect on the rest of the  
group. "That isn't always a bad thing."

A corner of Malachi's mouth tilted up.

"I'll try to remember that." He said.

Maureen pushed both hands through her hair and rotated her head  
from side to side.

"Okay," she sighed. "Someone tell me what the chances are that  
this is the only stone they have."

"Force sensitive stones are not as rare as we would like to  
believe." Qui-Gon inspected a small chunk of the jade as he  
spoke. "I've never seen one with this property before. But I  
doubt anyone would risk traveling the Portal without being  
prepared." He pushed the larger pieces of marcasite aside and  
collected the remaining dust in his hand. "We should separate  
the remaining pieces so they can't be used together." Opening  
the front door he gently blew the dust outside.

"How did Master Beerethe and his Padawan come in contact with  
this stone at the temple?"

Qui-Gon contemplated Obi-Wan's question as he watched the  
marcasite dust disappear in the breeze.

"I don't know Padawan," he said. "But we've run out of time.  
They're going to hurt someone if we don't stop them."

"If only we had some idea of what they were looking for."  
Maureen slumped into a chair and continued to rub her temples.  
"God, I need a work out," she grumbled under her breath.

Qui-Gon straightened up and moved back to the couch, picking up  
the journal that had belonged to the twin's grandfather.

"It's time to consult our elders." Qui-Gon skimmed though the  
pages of the journal as he spoke. "Your grandfather mentioned  
the names of two people in his journal. He believed these were  
members of the original group of Jedi who had left Coruscant  
and ended up on Earth." Finding the page he was looking for,  
Qui-Gon read the names out loud. "Bodhidharma, and Rasputin."

"Legend has it that Bodhidharma was a priest who lived in China  
close to two thousand years ago." Maureen said with a slight  
frown. "Supposedly he traveled to a Buddhist temple in the  
mountains. When he got there he found the priests inhabiting  
the temple were very sickly, malnourished, and weak. He set up  
an exercise program to strengthen their bodies, minds and  
spirits. What he started has been passed on and is now the  
foundation of modern Martial Arts. The Taekwon Do that Chi and  
I teach is one type of martial art."

"And the other?"

"He was considered to be a very shady character who lived in  
Russia in the earlier part of this century." Malachi started.  
"The heir to the thrown at that time was a very sick child.  
Rasputin seemed to be able to help the child and the child's  
mother became very influenced by this man, making others  
jealous. He was murdered and I think it was his death that made  
Grandpa believe he was a Jedi. According to legend he had to be  
shot, beaten, stabbed, exposed to the elements and drowned  
before he finally died. Through out the process he escaped  
several times making Grandpa believe he had some control of the  
Force."

"Grandpa and I had differing opinions on that point. He may  
have had some control of the Force, but Rasputin was not on the  
same caliber of man as Bodihidharma." Maureen interjected.  
"Good old Grigory was a womanizer and an opportunist. He didn't  
do anything that would not have helped him financially or  
politically."

"What did you call him?" Qui-Gon asked.

Maureen replayed her words in her mind.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "Rasputin's full name was Grigory  
Efimovich Rasputin."

Qui-Gon inhaled sharply.

"That's him," he said. "The Padawan who stole the key to the  
Portal of Rasme. His name was Putain Grigor."  
________________________________________________________________________

Lost in his or her own thoughts, no one spoke for a long time.  
Eventually Maureen rubbed her face with both hands and gave out  
a little chuckle.

"What?" Malachi asked.

"Oh, nothing," she shook her head as she spoke. "I just  
realized that Grandpa was right ....again. Like I shouldn't be  
used to that now." She rubbed her face again.

"At least now we have a direction to move in." Qui-Gon  
commented. "What else can you tell me about this Rasputin?"

"Not much I'm afraid," Maureen frowned. "Russian history isn't  
my forte."

"That's something in itself," Malachi rubbed his chin as he  
spoke. "Russia is on the other side of the Earth. If this  
Master Beerethe and his Padawan could somehow guide the portal  
to take them where they needed to go, why come here? And all  
this doesn't explain hijacking that bus."

"I don't think they were interested in the bus at all," Obi-Wan  
spoke up.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because when I saw the other Padawan, she was leaving the  
area. Once the crowd had formed she was no longer interested in  
what was happening with the bus."

"So she was creating a diversion," Qui-Gon said thoughtfully.  
"This bus is a form of public transportation, correct?"

A pair of nods confirmed his suspicions.

"Is there anything on the bus route that could be related to  
Rasputin or Russia?"

"Well there's Arlington National Cemetery," Maury extended her  
fingers as she named the landmark sites. "The Washington  
Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Smithsonian..."

She stopped and looked intently at her brother. Twin pairs of  
eyes glowed with realization.

"Of course," Maureen said. "I must be losing it. I need to make  
a call."

She held out her hand and called her cell phone to her with a  
touch of the Force. Pressing a button she placed the phone to  
her ear and started pacing a little.

Malachi moved over to a bookshelf.

"The Smithsonian Institution is probably the greatest  
collection of museums on Earth." His fingers brushed across  
several volumes as he spoke. "And they recently had an Exhibit  
on Russian Antiquities. Ah, here it is. This was such a neat  
exhibit that I bought the catalogue."

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon watched as Malachi flipped the pages.  
Glossy photos showed images of Russian artistry and wealth from  
a time long past in the countries history.

"Captain Benton please. Maureen Lee." Obi-Wan heard Maureen say  
as she paced just inside the kitchen door. He continued to look  
at the book Malachi had presented while he kept watch of  
Maureen movements.

"Here, this is what I was looking for." Malachi stopped  
flipping pages and pointed to a picture in the book. " I  
remember there being at least one item attributed to Rasputin."

Obi-Wan looked closely at the picture provided. It was a solid  
gold cross with elaborate metal work and encrusted with several  
jewels. At the center of the cross was an uncut stone that  
seemed misplaced amongst the delicately jeweled ones around it.

"Hello Captain," Maureen was speaking again. "Yes, it was an  
interesting situation. No, I'm fine. Thanks for asking. Captain  
have you heard of anything interesting happening at the  
Smithsonian today? Really?"

Maureen slowed her pace and listened intently for a long time.  
Her pause in speech attracted Qui-Gon and Malachi's attention  
as well.

"Interesting," She said at last. "Were they hurt? Good. I'm not  
sure. It just seemed logical if you consider the bus route.  
Thanks Captain. I'll keep you informed." She hung up the phone  
and turned to the rest of the group. "Obi-Wan, you get a gold  
star. The bus incident was only a diversion. While much of DCPD  
was busy with the bus, someone entered the rooms where the  
Russian Antiquities exhibit was located."

"Is that so strange in a museum here?" Qui-Gon asked.

"No," Maureen continued. "People come and go throughout the  
Smithsonian all the time. What our friends didn't anticipate  
when they planned their diversion is that the Smithsonian  
increased their security once they heard about the bus. They  
were on the look out for suspicious activity. And when someone  
deliberately entered a closed off area of the Smithsonian, it  
caught Securities attention."

"Closed?" Malachi's eyebrows knitted together. "Why was the  
exhibit closed?"

"Because the exhibit ended last Friday," came the reply. "It  
has been packed up and waiting to be sent to the West Coast for  
another showing."

"You asked if someone had been injured," Qui-Gon said.

"Yes, two security guards were dispatched to intercept the  
trespasser. When security caught up with them they were sitting  
on the floor, confused about what had happened."

"Master Bereethe used the Force on them." Qui-Gon hung his head  
as they spoke the words.

"Apparently this Master Bereethe was trying to find out where  
the exhibit had been moved to." Maureen then added, "He didn't  
hurt them. That's significant."

Qui-Gon nodded but continued to frown.

"So where is the exhibit now?" Malachi asked.

"The museum curator's are not saying but how would you send a  
priceless exhibit across country?"

Malachi thought for a moment about all the security lessons his  
sister had told him in the past.

"I'd probably fly it unmarked aboard a commercial passenger  
flight." He said finally. "That's where the best security is."

Maureen nodded in agreement.

"Dulles?" Malachi asked.

"No," Maureen answered as she picked up the flashlight Obi-Wan  
had used to smash the Force Sensitive stone. "Baltimore  
International." She tossed the flashlight to her brother and  
retrieved the black one from its resting-place. "We might need  
these."

With a frown Malachi looked at the flashlight in his hand and  
nodded. Stepping back he used a touch of the Force to activate  
the lightsaber within the cylinder. A soft white beam with  
intermittent patches of blue, pink, and green emerged with a  
familiar hum. Malachi moved the saber through a riposte to  
check for balance and then powered the saber down.

Qui-Gon's eyes widened.

"You have lightsabers?" It was a statement more than a  
question.

Maureen copied her brother's actions with her own saber. Her  
blade was a deep amber color.

"Yes, Master Jinn." She answered carefully. "Grandpa insisted  
on it but we've never used them in public. I meant what I said  
earlier. This world is not ready for the Force and the  
technology that you are used to."

Malachi chuckled a little as he thumbed a red button on the  
side of his lightsaber's casing.

"When Grandpa told us about the portal he emphasized that  
someone else could come through it at any time, and that we  
should always be prepared for when that happened. We keep these  
disguised as flashlights so we can carry them if we ever need  
to, without attracting too much attention." Malachi explained.  
"The saber cannot be turned on without using the Force to  
activate the blade. But the flashlight is just a simple  
flashlight. Obi-Wan broke my bulb."

"Better that than your focusing stone," Maureen commented.  
Setting her lightsaber down she left the room to gather some  
supplies.

"May I?" Qui-Gon asked and held out his hand.

"Of course," Malachi said as he turned his saber over to  
Qui-Gon to inspect. "We promised Grandpa that we would never  
use these unless it was absolutely necessary. It feels strange  
to be faced with that prospect at this time."

"I've never seen a saber that's multicolored before," Obi-Wan  
commented, watching the colored patches of the saber glow as  
his master examined the blade.

"The focusing crystal is an opal." Malachi explained. "A friend  
traveled to Australia and brought back a simple rock for me as  
a gift. When she gave it I could feel its Force sensitivity  
immediately. She had no idea that inside the rock was the  
crystal I had been seeking to finish my saber. My only concern  
is that opals are naturally fragile."

"You grandfather brought the rest of the materials with him?"  
Qui-Gon asked as he finished his inspection.

"All of the important components, yes." Maureen answered as she  
reentered the room. "He brought several supplies with him when  
he left Coruscant. It was up to us to find and cut our focusing  
crystals. Mine is made of a smoky quartz crystal I found in a  
river bed. Now we must hurry. The airport is an hour away from  
here and our Jedi friends have several hours of a head start."

Malachi picked up his doctor's bag and grabbed his car keys off  
a nearby table.

"I'll drive." He said and they headed out the door.

To be continued...Comments always welcomed at  
Sphinx@hyperchat.com

* * *

* * *

Part 7

Qui-Gon watched the scenery pass by from the back seat of  
Malachi's car. He gently tugged on the straw to a vanilla milk  
shake he had received when the group stopped for food. Maureen  
had not eaten since early in the morning and the sun was  
rapidly setting to the West. Qui-Gon's expression had shown his  
surprise when Obi-Wan placed his own order. Instead of  
questioning this, Qui-Gon requested the same and was now slowly  
sipping a drink that was a little too sweet for his taste.

In his mind Qui-Gon considered the events of the past few days.  
He could sense that when they met with Master Bereethe and his  
Padawan their situation would reach a climax, and that climax  
was fast approaching. Even more frustrating for Qui-Gon was his  
relationship with Obi-Wan. There seemed to be no improvement in  
their relationship and that bothered the Jedi Master. Obi-Wan's  
bouts of anger, although artificially induced, had reawakened  
Qui-Gon's doubts about his training abilities. Could he still  
be the type of Master able to lead a young mind away from the  
dark and show him the right path? Without question Qui-Gon  
could see that Obi-Wan was very intelligent and full of promise  
to the Jedi Order. Would not that promise be better trained by  
someone who was younger and more confident in their abilities?

Yet Qui-Gon remembered the smile on his Padawan's face when  
they first saw each other after traveling through the Portal.  
Obi-Wan's smile had done much to remove the lingering pain  
Qui-Gon experienced as a result of being hit by the car. Behind  
a slight smile Qui-Gon thanked the Force for bringing Obi-Wan  
into his life.

"So what's the plan?"

Malachi's question intruded on Qui-Gon's thoughts.

"We know the airline, so finding the correct hanger won't be  
difficult." Maureen turned in her seat so she could look at all  
the car's occupants. "However, I am concerned about security.  
It will be tough to get through without raising suspicions."

"In what way?" Qui-Gon asked.

"As an F.B.I. agent I can get us in the door. But I don't want  
to use that advantage." Maury paused to consider her words  
carefully. "I don't want to place my concerns about the future  
ahead of stopping this Master Bereethe and his Padawan.  
However, it will be much harder for Malachi and myself to  
explain certain things if my presence here is recorded  
officially. And there will be security cameras."

"Then we will have to disable the cameras."

"Actually, that might not be necessary." Maureen reached into  
the bag she brought and pulled out two small electronic  
devices. "These are a type of radio transmitter a friend of  
mine was developing at work. He was trying to create a better  
wireless radio for negotiators and I helped him test these. The  
problem was that in all film footage of the test my image came  
back extremely blurred. My friend eventually scrapped the  
project because the radios didn't meet his expectations. I kept  
the transmitters for just this type of occasion."

Qui-Gon inspected one of the devices.

"I'm not sure why my image was blurred," Maureen continued.  
"But I believe it has something to do with the Force. No other  
image was blurred on the film. There are two drawbacks. The  
first is that I only have two of these."

"You and Malachi should keep these with you." Qui-Gon said.  
"You are in more danger of being recognized. What's the second  
drawback?"

Maureen shrugged and continued.

"Even if these distort our image on security tape, there's no  
guarantee that the F.B.I. lab can't remove the distortion  
later."

"That's a risk we'll just have to take," Malachi said with  
conviction.

"Agreed," his sister replied. "And if we're lucky, and we stay  
close to each other, the radios may keep all of our identities  
concealed."

"We should separate into two groups," Qui-Gon said. "Which of  
you has the best skills with your lightsaber?"

"Maury does," Malachi spoke without hesitation. "But it's been  
awhile since either of us worked with them."

"Then I want Obi-Wan to go with you, Maureen."

"The are several buildings that make up the hanger structures  
for the airlines. There may be a lot of ground to cover."  
Malachi paused as they passed under a highway exit sign.  
"Maury, once we exit I'm going to pull over and change places  
with you. You can drop Master Jinn and I off by the maintenance  
road. That will take us straight to the holding hangers."

"Understood," Maureen nodded. "Obi-Wan and I will slip in from  
the opposite end."

Twenty minutes later Qui-Gon and Malachi walked quietly toward  
the proper hangar. Although the airport bustled with activity,  
the hangars seemed quiet. The younger man mentioned third shift  
being low on personnel but Qui-Gon remained cautious. There was  
little chance they would be able to enter the hangar  
undetected. As they passed by a light pole Qui-Gon noticed a  
security camera focused on the surrounding area. A little red  
light indicated that the camera was recording.

Malachi and Qui-Gon entered the large hanger easily, a happily  
sleeping security guard no longer posed a threat.

"Surgeon General says we aren't getting enough sleep," Malachi  
said as he gave the guard a Force suggestion. "As a doctor it's  
my duty to see this man follows the General's orders."

Qui-Gon let out a quiet snort of amusement but continued to be  
aware of his surroundings. He could sense a fluctuation in the  
Force around him, as though someone was trying to hide their  
presence. In that moment he knew Bereethe and his Padawan were  
already here.

* * *

Across the airport Obi-Wan and Maureen were cautiously making  
their way through a terminal.

"Once we get outside the hangars it will be easy to slip into a  
hanger through the employee entrance." Maureen spoke quietly to  
Obi-Wan. "If I remember correctly there is a staircase just  
over..."

"Maury? Hello, Maureen Lee."

Maureen stiffened visibly before Obi-Wan's eyes. He watched as  
she transformed her face into a strange smile and turn around  
to meet the man who had called her.

"Kevin, hello." She said as she turned to the man who  
approached her. "Imagine seeing you here."

"Yes, funny isn't it?" Kevin seemed rather nervous as well when  
he spoke. He was a little taller than Maureen. Obi-Wan guessed  
that he was about the same age as well even though he was  
slightly balding and with small wire rimmed glasses. Next to  
him stood a beautiful young woman with flowing blond hair.  
Obi-Wan noticed the other woman was not smiling and looked at  
Maureen in a very guarded way.

"We just came back from Cozumel," Kevin stammered, blushing  
slightly. "Sort of a vacation for us."

"A second honeymoon sweetheart," the woman corrected as she  
plastered herself against Kevin. Obi-Wan could feel the tension  
in the area rising.

"Hello Jackie." Maureen smiled. "How wonderful for you."

"Yeah," Kevin looked down at his feet. "So what are you doing  
here?"

"Uhm, I am bringing..." she paused and looked at Obi-Wan, "my  
student to meet someone. This is..."

"Ben," Obi-Wan offered.

"Hello Ben," Kevin smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you. And a  
martial artist as well. I can tell you you're getting the best  
training in D.C. You have a great teacher, two actually."

"I hate to interrupt," Jackie smoothed her hand over Kevin's  
chest. "But we really must get going."

"Of course," Kevin blushed a little more as he spoke. "It was  
good seeing you Maury. Tell Chi I said hello."

"You too, and I will."

Maureen didn't move for a few minutes as the couple left them.  
Finally she closed her eyes and exhaled loudly.

"Well that was uncomfortable," Maureen offered at last.

"Who was that?" Obi-Wan's curiosity got the best of him.

"That was my ex-husband and his wife."

"Your ex-husband. You mean here you don't bond for life?"  
Obi-Wan's eyes widened a little as he spoke.

"I used to think so, Obi-Wan. But no, not always."

They turned back to their original task but Obi-Wan noticed  
Maureen was more subdued than before the meeting. Finally, as  
they reached the door they were looking for, she stopped.

"You're very lucky Obi-Wan." Her voice was quiet as she spoke.  
"You live in world where your gifts are accepted and  
understood. Where there are others who share those gifts. Here,  
even those you think will understand, who you think will accept  
you despite your differences, don't. It makes relationships  
hard. I'm just thankful Chi and I are so close."

She smiled a sad smile and then shook her head as if to toss  
away her train of thought.

"And what's this Ben stuff?" She asked with a playful tone.

* * *

The hangar was quiet but Qui-Gon could feel an unease settling  
in the air. He let the Force lead. There was a muted presence  
nearby, a life Force that seemed to be slowly but steadily  
diminishing. This confused Qui-Gon but he did not let it  
distract him.

Finally they came to a closed door in a darkened area of the  
hangar. The lock to the door lay in pieces at their feet.  
Qui-Gon raised his lightsaber but did not ignite it. Malachi  
followed his actions and nodded. In one swift motion Qui-Gon  
kicked the door open and entered the room, Malachi following  
behind.

The back of a dark figure stood over some crates on the other  
side of the room.

"I knew you were coming Master Jinn." Master Bereethe  
straightened his shoulders as he quietly spoke. "Your Force is  
so strong."

"Bereethe," Qui-Gon spoke firmly. "We know what you are looking  
for. You and your padawan must stop and turn yourselves over to  
me. We need to go back to Coruscant, to the Jedi Council."

Bereethe bobbed his head up and down a little but didn't speak.  
Malachi shifted his gaze between the two Jedi present.

"I cannot go back with you, Master Jinn. Jeslyn will not go  
back." The voice was almost a whisper as the older Jedi slumped  
before them. "It will not be allowed."

"I don't understand." Qui-Gon took a cautious step forward as  
he spoke but kept his guard up.

"Funny," Bereethe said. "I thought you would." He slumped  
forward, his cloak vibrating over shaking muscles. In a quick  
movement he groaned and then turned to face his adversaries  
while igniting lightsaber. Malachi nervously clutched his  
lightsaber, ready to ignite it when Master Jinn did the same.

"Please don't do this Master Bereethe," Qui-Gon begged as the  
older man faced him. The words were merely absorbed by the  
humming of Bereethe's lightsaber as he lunged at Malachi.

* * *

Obi-Wan moved cautiously between the rows of shelving and boxes  
in one of the airport's hangars. He and Maureen had been led in  
this direction, not by any strange direction in the Force, but  
by a trail of sleeping security guards and destroyed security  
cameras.

"Apparently we didn't need to worry about security after all.  
Our friends from Coruscant have taken care of that problem for  
us."

These were the only words Maureen had spoken since they had  
found the first guard. Obi-Wan sensed her growing agitation  
with each of the four guards they had found. As they each  
walked down a separate isle in the building, Obi-Wan could see  
her in between the boxes that separated them.

A loud crack, the sound of wood bending under strain, echoed in  
the building and they stopped their progression. Maureen looked  
at Obi-Wan and he nodded, his shoulders straightening for the  
task ahead. Cautiously they moved forward once again.

Master Bereethe's Padawan, Jeslyn, was so engrossed in  
searching the crate in front of her that she didn't notice  
their approach. They watched as she pulled bubble wrapped  
objects and stuffing out of the crate. Finally she stopped and  
carefully lifted a smaller object with an odd sort of  
reverence. Even though it had been made amorphous but the  
packaging around it, Obi-Wan and Maureen could make out the  
vague shape of Rasputin's cross.

The air around the three men crackled with unseen energy.  
Qui-Gon easily deflected Bereethe's blows but between each  
riposte there was a pause as the men considered their next  
move. Malachi followed Qui-Gon's lead and did nothing past  
defense in those few moments of calm before the fury, blocking  
a blow to Malachi's head, another to Qui-Gon's forearm. Qui-Gon  
tried to reason with the older Jedi.

"Master Bereethe, you are out numbered. Throw down your saber  
and we can discuss this."

Malachi deflected three thrusts in quick succession, not  
backing up but managing to hold his ground. His confidence with  
his saber skills started to increase the more he entered the  
fight.

Qui-Gon side stepped a vertical swipe and stumbled over a small  
crate, almost losing his balance.

Another lunge and a Force thrust knocked Malachi off his feet.  
He rolled immediately into a crouch as Qui-Gon leapt to protect  
him but stopped as Bereethe sagged where he stood. The older  
Jedi was trembling, his breathing labored, one hand  
unconsciously rubbing his chest.

"I do not want to fight you Master Bereethe." Qui-Gon spoke  
carefully. "I sense that you do not want to fight either."

Haunted eyes answered Qui-Gon.

"You cannot fight what you do not see, Master Jinn."

Bereethe yelled as he resumed his offense with jerk like a  
puppet thrown on stage. Malachi jumped to his feet to aid in  
the fight but Qui-Gon was very much in control of the  
situation. Lunges and thrusts were met with effective blocks.  
Master Bereethe, however, was not without tricks and he  
maneuvered close to Qui-Gon. Their glowing blades locked,  
pouring sparks in a blazing fury near Qui-Gon's head. With the  
strength of the Force Qui-Gon threw Bereethe off and the older  
Jedi spun backwards, the cloth of his tunic tearing as he fell  
against a crate, his lightsaber falling from his hand.

Qui-Gon called the other saber to him and deactivated it.  
Malachi and he looked at the fallen Jedi speculatively for any  
signs of aggression. It was then that they noticed a large burn  
on the other man's chest where his tunic had been ripped open.

Dr. Malachi moved into prompt action, carefully helping  
Bereethe onto the ground where he could examine the wound more  
carefully. Bereethe did not resist, but watched with glassy  
eyes some turmoil only his brain could see.

"He's got a full thickness burn here," Malachi said as he  
pulled his doctor's bag out of his backpack. "He was exposed to  
whatever burnt him for some time."

Qui-Gon surveyed the area and finally noticed a small pouch  
that had apparently been torn off of Bereethe in his fall. Once  
he retrieved the pouch it opened to reveal a stone of Corellian  
Marcasite. Malachi paused in his ministrations to look at the  
stone with a grim face and then turned back to his work.

Qui-Gon laid the stone on the ground and reignited his saber.  
With stoic control he lowered the beam of focused light onto  
the stone. An eerie hiss filled their ears followed by a loud  
pop. When he removed the blade of his saber the charred,  
shattered remains of the crystal were revealed. Qui-Gon ground  
the remains to dust with the heel of his shoe and moved to  
Bereethe's side. The older Jedi raised a weak hand to him.

"Jeslyn," he whispered.

"She was controlling you with the stone." Qui-Gon said gently.

"I should have been stonger. I should have detected her  
deception sooner, before she had control of me."

Qui-Gon smiled a sad smile filled with memories of Xanatos.

"It is hard to acknowledge deception where we don't want to see  
it," he offered in simple understanding to the Jedi before him.

Malachi opened a packet of white cream and gently smoothed it  
over the charred skin at his fingertips.

"Your burn is deep, but it will heal," he said. "But we'll have  
to get you somewhere where we can care for it properly." After  
he spoke he shook his right hand and then drew it into a fist.  
"Maureen has ignited her lightsaber." He looked at his hand and  
then added. "The stone in my ring is from the same stone as her  
focusing crystal."

"I'll go." Qui-Gon spoke as he stood. "See what you can do to  
help Master Bereethe."

"Master Jinn," Bereethe spoke in a tone that caused Qui-Gon to  
stop. "What she is looking for, Jeslyn will not find here. But  
still, you must stop her."

* * *

Obi-Wan watched as Maureen slowly reached behind her back and  
pulled her gun out of its holster. She jerked her head at  
Obi-Wan and he hid behind a crate. The gun would be no match  
for a lightsaber, but Obi-Wan hoped Maureen could catch the  
Padawan by surprise. He gripped his lightsaber tightly.

"Freeze!" Maureen yelled at the Padawan.

Jeslyn jerked her head in Maureen's direction and hissed at  
her. Suddenly Maureen was knocked backwards against some  
shelving. Obi-Wan watched as Jeslyn ignited her lightsaber and  
leapt at Maureen. She looked like a savage animal as she  
attacked.

Maureen rolled out of the way of the first blow and ignited her  
lightsaber in response. Although she knew how to handle her  
lightsaber Maureen was definitely outskilled by the enraged  
Padawan. Obi-Wan moved to help his friend when he noticed  
something. Jeslyn was no longer holding the cross. Looking back  
towords the crate in which the cross had been packed, Obi-Wan  
spotted the cross on the ground. Jeslyn must have abandonded it  
when she attacked Maureen. Maureen continued to successfully  
block the attack so Obi-Wan moved to the crate to pick up the  
cross. He started to reach for it when he heard a sickening  
thud followed by the heavy clatter of a lightsaber across the  
floor.

Obi-Wan turned around to face Master Bereethe's Padwan, her  
saber pointed at him. Maureen lay on the floor, apparently  
knocked unconscious by her fall.

Obi-Wan took in Jeslyn's full appearance for the first time.  
Her face was gaunt, her eyes sunken, her mouth slightly open.  
Her breath's came in a ragged staccato that made her appear  
more like a wild animal than a controlled Jedi. She was more  
skilled than Obi-Wan but he quickly pushed thoughts of failure  
out of his mind. He would defend his friend, the Jedi, and the  
Portal of Rasme. He cleared his mind and called the Force to  
him just as Jeslyn thrust towards him with a loud yell.

The hum of her saber sang past his ear but he blocked it in  
time. Another blow landed on the ground by his feet with a  
shower of sparks but he jumped away, forcing himself to remain  
calm. Jeslyn continued her assault with wild movements but  
Obi-Wan refused to follow. He continued to release his anxiety  
and felt the strength of the Force behind his defense. A block  
to his midsection, a twist and another swipe at his head.  
Obi-Wan continued to defend himself.

After a few moments of the heated battle, however, Obi-Wan felt  
himself growing tired. He held on in amazement at the other  
Padawan's stamina. Something in the back of his mind told him  
her abilities were unnatural, even to the Jedi.

He followed the Force and tried to land a blow to Jeslyn's arm  
but by some adrenaline induced state she was able to fend him  
off and catch him off guard. He twisted his ankle just as he  
saw her blade heading for his chest. A flash of green caught  
his eye as Qui-Gon entered the fight, protecting his Padawan.  
Soon the two of them were fighting side by side. In the  
excitement Obi-Wan realized Jeslyn was between them and the  
cross. She stepped back and bumped against it on the floor.

A sickening smile crept across her face when she realized what  
she had bumped against. She no longer attacked and the other  
Jedi stopped.

"Jeslyn," Qui-Gon spoke calmly, despite his labored breathing.  
"We have Master Bereethe. Let us take you both back to  
Coruscant where we can help you."

Jeslyn just smiled. In a quick motion she called the cross,  
still wrapped in bubble wrap, into her hand.

"Padawan!" Qui-Gon spoke more forcefully now. "I know you are  
under the spell of some Force you cannot control. If you fight  
it we can help you."

Behind him Obi-Wan heard Maureen stirring. Keeping his eye on  
Jeslyn, he moved to Maureen side to keep her from moving.

Somehow, with one hand Jeslyn managed to removed the wrapping  
from the cross and hold it up. She rubbed the center stone with  
her thumb. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon felt the shift in the Force  
around them. She had opened the Portal of Rasme, the vortex  
swirling near to her side.

"Jeslyn," Qui-Gon attempted to move closer to her as he spoke.  
"Think of Master Bereethe, your Master. He's hurt. He needs  
you. Do you really want to go against him like this?"

The shift in Jeslyn's eyes was subtle but Obi-Wan saw her  
momentarily shift from being a crazed animal to a human being  
once again. Her grip on the cross loosened.

"Jeslyn stop!" Master Bereethe yelled from behind Qui-Gon. He  
was walking into the room with Malachi's support.

Jeslyn looked at her Master and horror filled her eyes. Whether  
it was fear of her Master or acknowledgement of what she had  
tried to do no one would ever know. At the moment she looked  
away Qui-Gon turned off his saber and struck down with the  
casing, hitting her on the wrist of the hand in which she held  
the cross. The cross dropped to the ground as Jeslyn was thrown  
into the Portal. She screamed as she disappeared into thin air.

The group stood still with the realization of what had just  
happened. Only Master Bereethe moved as he walked to the Portal  
and held his hand in front of it. After a few minutes of silent  
meditation, the Force creating the Portal dissipated.

Qui-Gon watched Master Bereethe while he lifted the cross off  
the floor.

"May I?" Bereethe asked and Qui-Gon handed the cross to him.

In the back of the room Malachi turned his attention to his  
sister who was attempting to sit up.

Master Bereethe handled the cross almost reverently. So this is  
what Padawan Greigor took with him."

"Then the center stone is the key to the Portal," Qui-Gon spoke  
as he watched the older Jedi.

"No," Bereethe shook his head. "It isn't." Qui-Gon looked at  
him in surprise until Bereethe spoke again. "Master Rasme left  
no physical key to unlock the Portal. After all, he had to pass  
into the Force in order to create it. By then it was too late  
to leave anything solid behind."

"Then how..."

"The key is in the mind, Master Jinn." Master Bereethe handed  
the cross back to Qui-Gon as he continued with his soft  
whispery voice. "A Jedi can open the Portal if he or she has  
the proper focus to do so. This was Jeslyn's sole purpose for  
coming here. She controlled my actions but she never asked me  
about the key itself. When she finally had her hands on what  
she thought was the key she was so focused on opening the  
portal that she was able to do so without realizing she was  
doing all the actual Force manipulation herself."

"Where did she go?"

Bereethe looked away and sighed. "She will travel wherever her  
focus takes her. Then, hopefully, she will travel no more. I do  
not know why she turned to the dark. But I can only suspect  
someone or something else was behind this."

"Ow! Cut it out."

The attention of the Master's was drawn to Obi-Wan, Malachi,  
and Maureen.

"Don't be such a baby," Malachi chided his sister as he looked  
at the purpling bruise that was starting to form on her temple.  
"You're going to be okay but you'll have a nasty headache for a  
while." He turned his attention to the rest of the group.  
"Everyone okay?"

The Jedi nodded in response.

"I suggest we get out of here." Maureen offered. "The sooner  
the better.. Let the police think there was an attempted break  
in."

Obi-Wan looked around the room. Although several crates had  
been knocked about, and one obviously opened, there was little  
sign of the battle that had been there. He watched as his  
Master placed the cross back in the crate it had come from. As  
Qui-Gon turned to help Master Bereethe he looked to Obi-Wan and  
smiled. Obi-Wan smiled back, an unspoken indication of their  
partnership and friendship. With that the group cautiously made  
their way out of the hanger.

The next morning the group stood in the main recreation room of  
the center below the twin's apartment. Everyone felt relieved  
when the headline news mentioned a break in at Baltimore  
International. However, since nothing was stolen, the  
investigation was focusing on it being a robbery attempt and  
nothing more. Malachi had seen to Master Bereethe's burn but  
had voiced some concerns of the Jedi's overall health to Master  
Jinn in private. Both Qui-Gon and Chi suspected that the  
emotion of losing his padawan would be an important factor in  
the older Jedi's recuperation.

"The Portal can be opened anywhere," Master Bereethe said to  
the rest of the group. "This discovery came to me after  
studying Master Rasme's teachings for several years. I never  
shared this knowledge with anyone for fear the Portal would be  
misused. Obviously I was correct in this assessment. It is time  
for me to return to Coruscant and unravel the mystery of my  
Padawan."

He smiled slightly and then turned to the twins.

"Thank you for all your help. Your grandfather would be proud."

Both twins smiled at this and then turned toward Qui-Gon and  
Obi-Wan.

"I guess this is goodbye." Maureen said with a sad smile.  
"Things aren't going to be half as exciting with you gone."

"That may not be such a bad thing," Qui-Gon offered with a  
smile as he shook her hand.

"True," Maureen chuckled and then turned to hug Obi-Wan. "You  
take care of yourself kiddo. I'm really gonna miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too," Obi-Wan hugged back. "Thank you  
for everything."

Malachi held his hand out to Qui-Gon who shook it in  
friendship.

"Be careful Master Jinn." Chi said. "You can tell the council  
that we'll be watching things at this end, should something  
like this ever happen again."

"They'll be glad to know that." Qui-Gon tried to release from  
the handshake but Malachi held on.

"And thank you for helping me see the truth about the Jedi."

Qui-Gon smiled at Malachi. The unspoken understanding flowed  
between both men and was quickly picked up by Maureen who also  
smiled at her brother.

With the final goodbyes the group waited quietly as Master  
Bereethe focused on opening the Portal. As the Force created  
the vortex within the room the twins stepped back to give the  
Jedi plenty of room. Master Bereethe was the first to enter the  
Portal. Peacefully his robes swirled around him and he was  
gone.

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon moved to the vortex, Qui-Gon's hands  
planted firmly on his Padawan's shoulders.

Just before they were about to enter Obi-Wan turned and waved  
to the friends they were leaving behind. Chi and Maury waved  
back as they watched the two Jedi disappear from their sight.

"Do you think we'll ever see them again?" Malachi asked as he  
and Maureen stared into the empty room.

"I don't know Chi. But would it be a bad thing if we did?"

He looked at her and shook his head.

"No," he said, "but just incase I think we out to look into  
some Kendo classes. A little Japanese swordmanship training is  
probably a good idea."

"I agree," Maureen said as she rubbed her bruised temple. "I  
definitely agree."

With that the twins turned out the light and left the room.

* * *

Traveling back through the Portal was not as bad as their first  
experience. When they stepped out on Coruscant both Qui-Gon and  
Obi-Wan were feeling dizzy and slightly nauseated, but not  
seriously so. They instantly met Mace Windu who was pacing back  
and forth with his hands on his hips. Upon seeing them he let  
out a sigh of relief, his features haggard from lack of sleep.

"Welcome back Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan." His face lite up with a smile  
as he approached them, eyeing their clothing. "It looks as  
though you two had an interesting time."

Qui-Gon chuckled softly, then asked immediately, "Master  
Bereethe?"

Mace directed his attention to the other side of the room where  
a healer was checking Master Beerethe.

"He came through the Portal a few minutes before you did." Mace  
explained. "We've been waiting for your arrival and have had  
healers here since you left two days ago. He told us about his  
Padawan. I suspect this was the seed to the darkside that we  
discussed earlier."

Qui-Gon watched the healer attend the elder Jedi and then his  
gaze fell on his own Master, sitting quietly in a dark corner  
of the room.

"The Council would like a full report as soon as possible."  
Mace caught Qui-Gon's attention once again. "Perhaps we can  
ascertain what happened to Jeslyn."

"We'd like to change clothes first." Qui-Gon said.

"Fine," agreed Mace with a grin. "I'll set a meeting up for one  
hour from now." He then directed his attention to Obi-Wan.

"It is good to have you back Padawan Kenobi." Mace's genuine  
smile eased any lingering fears Obi-Wan had of the Councilor.  
"The Council looks forward to hearing your views on this  
mission as well."

Obi-Wan looked to his Master with slightly wide eyes. Qui-Gon  
smiled encouragingly and placed his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder.

"Thank you Master Windu." Obi-Wan said, a bright smile across  
his face.

"Padawan," Qui-Gon said, "I'd like to speak with Master Yoda  
before the Council meeting." He turned to where the diminutive  
Master had been sitting only to find that Master Yoda had left  
the room. A crease formed on Qui-Gon's forehead. "Well, never  
mind."

He turned back to Obi-Wan and smiled again.

"Obi-Wan," he said, "ready to go home?"

"Yes Master," was all the assurance he needed.

* * *

* * *

Epilogue:

Qui-Gon sipped tea as he nonchalantly glanced to his master.  
The council meeting had taken longer than expected. According  
to the healer's (and Malachi's) instruction, Master Bereethe's  
activity was limited, but he had been allowed to address the  
council while seated. His body appeared small and Qui-Gon  
realized this was due to the older man's posture. Qui-Gon could  
almost see himself in the Master Bereethe. It had not been that  
long ago when Qui-Gon had to report to the council about  
Xanatos. The heavy weight of a fallen padawan on their master's  
shoulders was easy to recognize by those who had experienced it  
first hand.

And what had his master looked like when Noipreen Delco had  
left Coruscant? Losing one's padawan to the Dark was something  
every Master accepted as a possibility, even if they kept those  
thoughts in the most distant corner of their minds.

"But to have a student simply walk away from you," Qui-Gon  
thought to himself. "Would that be easier or harder to take  
than losing someone to the dark?"

"Good looking, Noipreen's grandchildren are. Healthy. A  
resemblance I see." Yoda's spoke his first words after  
inspecting the gift the twins had sent back to him. It was a  
framed photograph of them with their grandfather. Noipreen's  
eyes showed his pride as he hugged his adult grandchildren  
tightly. Master Yoda had quietly looked at the photo for a long  
time before speaking.

"As I said in the council meeting, they are very strong  
individuals. They have been well trained." Qui-Gon  
unconsciously eased into his chair now that his Master was  
speaking once again.

"More questions you will receive, I believe," Yoda moved across  
the room and placed the picture on a shelf. "Curious many will  
be about Force sensitives trained outside Coruscant. Concerned  
many will also be."

"How many Jedi left through the Portal of Rasme?"

The little Master hung his head and closed his eyes for a  
moment.

"With Padawan Greigor, 37 there were. Made it 38, my apprentice  
did. Hard to lose him it was."

"I read Knight Delco's journal Master," Qui-Gon offered in  
comfort. "By his own words I know it was a hard thing for him  
to do as well. He missed you. But he also loved his family on  
Earth."

A slight smile raised the corners of Master Yoda's eyes and he  
nodded.

"His place he found." Master Yoda agreed. "Good that is. For  
all Jedi the same, one can hope."

"Master, what caused the discontent among the Jedi all those  
years ago?"

"Believe we stressed knighthood too much, they did." Yoda  
sighed before he continued. "Give the option of becoming a  
healer, member of agri-corps, or other, to the students we  
should."

"Many have the same argument now." Qui-Gon spoke gently. "Even  
though there is no shame in being a member of the agri-corps,  
many see assignment there as a sign of failure."

"Much worse is was, in Noipreen's time. Change there has been.  
More there is needed, perhaps."

With a thump of his gimer stick Yoda was standing up again.

"More tea for you Master Qui-Gon," he spoke as he moved to his  
kitchen area, pausing only to adjust the position of the  
picture he had just received.

The corner of Qui-Gon's mouth curled up as he watched his  
mentor.

"Only a cup more," he said. "I need to start working with  
Obi-Wan on his hand to hand combat tactics."

"Ah yes, good training this will be." Master Yoda called. "More  
about your Padawan's progress, you will tell me. Excellent hand  
to hand fighter Norpreen was. Told you of this, have I? "

Obi-Wan sat with his friends in the dining hall, filling them  
in about becoming Master Jinn's Padawan and all the adventures  
he had experienced.

"Chi took care of Master Beerethe's burns before he allowed us  
to leave. And Maury went to a store and bought me and Master  
Jinn books to read."

"What about?" As Bant spoke Obi-Wan observed her eyes. He  
hadn't thought it possible that her eyes could become wider  
than they already were.

"She gave my Master a book on the history of the martial arts  
they practice. He says I can read it after he's finished with  
it. Me, she gave a book about some girls adventure through a  
looking glass." He frowned a bit and then continued.  
"Apparently it is a classic and book she grew up with. She said  
I would appreciate it more after I read it a few times."

"And the Portal of Rasme?" asked Reeft, who had forgotten to  
eat during Obi-Wan's tale. "Are the Jedi going to start using  
it soon?"

"Yeah, Obi," Guy Muln added. "When do we get our chance to  
travel to another world?"

Obi-Wan folded his hands on the table in front of him and shook  
his head.

"The Council destroyed it after we reported to them." He didn't  
look his friends in the eye as he spoke. "But trust me guys,  
you wouldn't want to use it even if you could. It makes my  
stomach upset just thinking about it." After a moment he looked  
back at his friends and smiled. "And just wait until I make all  
of you a milk shake. They're terrific."

The four friends chatted happily for a while until Bant  
stiffened in her seat.

"Oh, oh," she whispered. "Don't look now but Bruck and Aalto  
just came in."

As if that were a que, Bruck noticed Obi-Wan and his friends.

"I heard you were back Oafy!" He chided as he approached the  
group. "Probably a good thing too. I heard you've been signed  
up for some extra classes by Master Jinn. He must have realized  
how much work you need."

For a moment Obi-Wan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  
Bant unconsciously brought her hands to her face while Reeft  
and Guy Mulen looked nervously at each other and their friend.

"I believe you're right Bruck." Obi-Wan said at last. His green  
eyes were calm as he faced his childhood nemesis. "I'm sure  
Master Jinn has found several skills I need to work on. That is  
his job, as my Master." The slight emphasis on 'my' was not  
lost on Bruck.

"Yeah, well you'd better work on it." As he spoke Bruck jabbed  
a finger into Obi-Wan's chest. "Because I'm going to be working  
too, and you're going to see me at every competition and in  
every class you attend."

Bruck was caught completely off guard by the genuine smile that  
spread across Obi-Wan's face.

"That will be fine Bruck," Obi-Wan spoke easily. "Competition  
can be fun. But as I learned recently, I don't have to compete  
with you or anyone else if I don't want to. The only one I  
truly compete with is myself."

"You're exactly right Obi-Wan."

The group had been so engrossed in the scene before them that  
they had not noticed Master Jinn enter the dining hall. He gave  
Obi-Wan's friends a polite nod before turning to Bruck.

"You're Bruck Chun aren't you?" He asked. "I owe you a large  
debt of thanks."

"Sir?"

"You were the one who realized the Council had not officially  
recorded my taking Obi-Wan as my Padawan learner."

Obi-Wan bit his lower lip as his Master continued to talk.  
Bruck grew pale as he listened to the elder Jedi.

"We were away when I chose Obi-Wan and I assumed Master Yoda  
had taken care of the paperwork." Qui-Gon smiled pleasantly as  
he spoke. "But one learns we should never assume anything.  
Thanks to you I have corrected that error. Of course it was  
suggested that it may have been too late to enter Obi-Wan as my  
Padawan. But that was easily taken care of. Thank you again for  
ensuring Obi-Wan's place as my Padawan." He turned to Obi-Wan  
and continued. "If you don't mind visiting with your friends  
later Padawan, I was wondering if you could assist me. I could  
use your help on some chores."

"Yes Master." Obi-Wan said as he stood up from his seat and  
waved his good-byes. He didn't quite succeed in hiding his  
smile as he walked past Bruck. Obi-Wan didn't speak again until  
he and Qui-Gon were safely in their quarters.

"Master," he hung his head a little when he spoke. "It doesn't  
feel right lying to my friends."

"I know Obi-Wan," he said with a reassuring smile. "As Jedi we  
are often called to do things that make us uncomfortable. In  
this case, however, I know you are aware of just how dangerous  
the Portal of Rasme can be. As the council decided, it is best  
that we make everyone believe the Portal has been destroyed."

"And you're not angry with their decision?" Obi-Wan asked. "You  
told me you were angry that the Portal had not been destroyed  
earlier. Why doesn't it bother you that the Council isn't going  
to destroy it now?"

Qui-Gon looked away from questioning eyes a moment and thought.

"You ask a valid question Obi-Wan. One I hadn't thought about  
until now. I'm not sure I know why myself." He paused a moment  
and signed. "Perhaps the thought of a Force sensitive in a far  
away galaxy isn't as frightening as it first was. In any event,  
the Portal is a link to the Jedi who left through it in the  
past. Perhaps there will be a need to contact them or their  
descendents in the future."

Obi-Wan nodded his head with a smile that faded as he turned  
his attention to the carpet.

"Master...uhm..." he said with hesitation. "Just now...with  
Bruck in the cafeteria..."

"Yes, Obi-Wan?"

"I...uh...didn't expect you to...well...thank you Master."

A larger smile dominated Qui-Gon's face.

"Believe it or not Obi-Wan, I was also an apprentice at one  
time." He spoke with a mischevious glint in his eyes. "And  
you're very welcome."

finis

 

 

 

 

  



End file.
